MacGinnitie Wins Reagan Day Dinner Straw Poll

Doug MacGinnitie, Republican candidate for Secretary of State, won the Union County Republican Party straw poll on Saturday at the Reagan Day Dinner held in Blairsville, Georgia. MacGinnitie defeated Brian Kemp, the appointed Secretary of State, receiving 62% of the 265 votes cast.

"I am honored and excited to have won the straw poll in Union County," stated MacGinnitie. "It is affirmation that our campaign is continuing to build momentum and strong grassroots support across the state."

The Reagan Day Dinner straw poll marked the first straw poll of 2010, and the first to label Kemp as an incumbent on the ballot. The significant win for MacGinnitie further illustrates that the grassroots party activists have made their decision and want MacGinnitie in the office of the Secretary of State.

"This win reaffirms the belief that Georgians are not looking for another career politician, but rather a successful businessman with private sector experience," stated MacGinnitie. "Our straw poll victories are a testament to our campaign's ability to organize a network of dedicated citizens who believe in our vision for fair and honest elections and job growth."

The effort that MacGinnitie's campaign has put into traveling the state has paid off. MacGinnitie has won eight of the last nine major straw polls conducted by local GOP organizations. Doug won the straw polls held in Cobb, DeKalb, Glynn, Henry, Muscogee, Union and Walker County sometimes by a 2-to-1 margin. The one poll where Doug fell short was in his opponent's old senate district where he still managed to earn 40% of the vote.

"At this point, grassroots party activists who go to these events have already met both candidates on several occasions and are familiar with each," said campaign manager Brandon Phillips. "Even with our opponent now having the advantage of incumbency, the grassroots of our party still continue to stand with Doug. If we learned anything from this win, it's that when voters are educated about the candidates they choose Doug hands down. Our advantage is that we'll have the resources necessary to make that happen come July."

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Doug MacGinnitie Launches Effort to Increase Voting Opportunities for Military Personnel

Republican candidate for Georgia Secretary of State Doug MacGinnitie today launched an effort to increase opportunities for active duty service members and Reservists serving on active duty to participate in Georgia elections.

Research done by the Heritage Foundation in 2008 shows that 75-80% of military voters from across the United States were disenfranchised by their inability to request and return an absentee ballot within time limits as required by law. To make matters worse, for those who did cast an absentee ballot; local officials often reject military absentee ballots at far higher rates than other absentee ballots.

"Our men and women in uniform are putting their lives on the line to defend our freedoms," said MacGinnitie. "We should do everything possible to ensure they have the opportunity to participate in the most basic of American rights, the right to vote."

In Georgia all absentee ballots must be returned by 7pm on election day. In runoffs, it is virtually impossible for active duty personnel forward deployed in hazardous duty environments; serving on ships or aboard submarines to request and return a ballot in four weeks.

To address this problem, MacGinnitie has created his Military Voting Advisory Committee, composed of veterans and reservists from across the state. Experts from the legal and technology communities will also serve on the committee to assist in their respective fields. The mission is to develop policy ideas to solve this critical flaw in our voting laws.

"Our current Secretary of State has done an outstanding job focusing on stopping voter fraud, and has implemented reforms to help military voters. As Secretary of State, I will ensure Georgia leads the nation in giving active military voters the opportunity to cast a ballot," said MacGinnitie.

The members of MacGinnitie's Military Voting Advisory Committee include:

Brad Carver, Esq., Hall Booth Smith & Slover, P.C.
Brigadier General Walter C. Corish, Jr., GAANG, Ret.
Major General (Ret.) Bruce W. MacLane, USAF
Lieutenant Colonel Oz Hill, USA, Ret.
Jim Lester III, retired CIO AFLAC, former chairman Georgia Technology Authority
Brigadier General Denis Shortal, USMC, (RET)
Craig Thornton, President, Cnetics Technologies

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