Intern Takeover: Part 2

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How to Register to Vote and Where You Can Vote! (Hayley Ebanks, GSU)

As the months shorten to weeks, and weeks to days, the November 3rd election is closer than ever. The deadline for registering to vote in Georgia is October 5, with no same-day registration. The main stakes still stand: redistricting, that can potentially leave Georgians at a disadvantage for years. On the bright side, you have a say in who wins the seats and ultimately who redraws the district lines. To register as a voter, you can follow these simple steps:

Step 1: Check your eligibility. According to the Georgia Secretary of State, you must be:
a) a U.S. citizen
b) a legal resident of Georgia and your county
c) at least 17 1/2 years of age (you must be 18 years or older to vote)
d) not serving a felony sentence
e) not found mentally incompetent by a judge

Step 2: Check if you're already a registered voter. You can do this by visiting the My Voter Page and viewing your status.

Step 3: Register by October 5. Simply visit the Online Voter Registration Page, or you can mail a paper application.
Note: Online registration will require your Georgia driver's license or state ID.

Step 4: Choose where and when to vote. Visit the My Voter Page and fill out your information. Early voting starts 3 weeks before Election Day on October 13 and ends on October 30.

Step 5: Can't make it to the polls? Vote absentee. Any registered Georgia voter can vote by mail, no excuse needed, which makes it a great option for college students registered at a home address. Submit your request through the Absentee Ballot Request Portal by October 23. You'll need your driver's license or state ID number, or a copy of an approved ID. Your completed ballot must be received by your county election office by 7 p.m. on Election Day, so mail it back at least a week early, or drop it in an official county drop box during early voting hours. 

His name was Nolan Wells. (Azha Mosley, UGA)

A 18-year old boy, way down in Mississippi, is dead. Not from natural causes, not from a car accident, but from “drowning.” At least that’s what the coroner and Mississippi courts have concluded. But this tragedy isn’t a one-off occurrence. It’s actually something Black people and parents experience often.

That 18-year old’s name is Nolan Wells.

Nolan Wells, freshly graduated senior, mysteriously goes missing on July 4th and his body washes ashore Horn Island, Mississippi on July 6th, 2026. The truth is the circumstances surrounding his death are awfully suspicious. His own friends had no idea where he was but they had his phone. The coroner said he drowned but there was no water in his lungs. There were bruises on the back of his head, messages were deleted from his phone. What really happened to Nolan Wells?

Whether he actually drowned or he was killed, the reality of the situation is something that many Black parents fear. Sending your child, the only African-American, with others that don’t look like him is scary. It’s not prejudice, but a response to trauma. In the past, we’ve seen the many tragedies that the Black community has suffered on the basis of racism. Especially in the Deep South, in states like Mississippi. Think of the movie Mississippi Burning, which was based on a real story. Emmet Till, Medgar Evers, and so many more people that we may not ever hear of. 

As human beings, we demand fair justice for Nolan Wells and his family. We demanded justice for Emmett Till, George Floyd, Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin, Breonnaa Taylor, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Rodney King, and countless others. The only thing that has changed is the date, but our country is still plagued with the same problem. 

Nolan Wells never deserved to die this young. His untimely passing shouldn’t spark a civil war, but it should spark a conversation about justice, racism, and the experience that many Black families go through in the United States of America. 

ICE Detainment Centers: Who Does the Fifth Amendment Really Protect? (Hayley Ebanks, GSU)

Engraved on the U.S. Supreme Court building is 'Equal Justice Under Law', but who does this law apply to? When a civil detainee alleges breaches of human rights within detainment centers, is their right to due process violated? The Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause protects civil detainees stating that, "No person shall be…deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law". Additionally, in the 1979 'Bell v. Wolfish' case involving pretrial detainees, the Supreme Court sided with the government. The Court ruled that as long as conditions were seen as reasonable ways to achieve government objectives without inflicting punishment, the detainees' right to due process was not violated.

A detainee at Louisiana's River Center detention facility describes the conditions faced with allegations of overcrowding, and the contamination of diseases like tuberculosis, conjunctivitis and the flu. A 2019 report by the DHS Inspector General also found expired food at numerous facilities. Under the Supreme Court's 1979 ruling, the question now stands: are these conditions reasonable, legitimate ways to achieve government objectives? Do they include the infliction of punishment to achieve these goals? For example, with the detainee describing 76 people confined to one cell, facilitating the spread of disease, serves no legitimate purpose and can be inferred as punishment. These alleged conditions could potentially violate the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause. By analyzing the claims of the detainee and the 1979 Bell v. Wolfish case, it can be suggested that these conditions could be seen as ways to inflict punishment and may not serve as a legitimate, reasonable way to achieve a goal. When we observe the statement: "Equal Justice Under Law", it's important to acknowledge that this justice applies to everyone and does not exclude people based on nationality.

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Gas Prices: Personal & Political (Isabella Carvajal, GSU)

As a young voter, I constantly hear that I should care about the economy, but the economy is not just a statistic on the news to me. I feel it every time I pull into a gas station, buy groceries, or look at my bank account and wonder how everything suddenly became so expensive.

Right now, gas prices are impossible for me to ignore.

Here in Georgia, prices have climbed high enough that Governor Brian Kemp suspended the state's motor fuel tax for 30 days, from September 29 through October 29. The tax normally adds 33.3 cents per gallon of gasoline. I appreciate the relief, but I cannot help asking: what happens on October 30?

Of course, we cannot talk about today's oil prices without talking about the war with Iran. The conflict has disrupted Middle Eastern energy supplies and important shipping routes, contributing to volatility in global oil markets. Even as some Gulf exports recover, uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz and the conflict continues to put pressure on prices.

For me, Venezuela makes this even more personal.

Being Venezuelan, I know what it is like to watch a country with enormous oil reserves struggle while its people see little benefit from that wealth. Now Venezuela is once again part of America's energy conversation. We have heard about agreements and increased access to Venezuelan oil, and Venezuelan crude is already reaching the United States.

So I find myself asking: for what?

If Venezuelan oil is part of our strategy, what is it supposed to accomplish for American consumers? And if the war with Iran has exposed how vulnerable global energy markets remain, what are we doing to make sure the next international crisis does not leave Americans facing the same problem?

That is what makes this a voting issue for me. Politics is not something that will affect young voters someday. It affects us right now. Because when you are standing at the pump watching the numbers climb, politics stops feeling distant.

It becomes personal.

The Politics of Fear (Elina Flinn, UGA)

As a college student, it can feel like American politics is constantly telling our generation what to be afraid of. Open social media or watch a campaign advertisement, and there is always another crisis: immigrants are “supposedly threatening our communities,” climate policy will “supposedly destroy the economy,” and artificial intelligence “will take away our futures.”

Fear is powerful politics. The right has increasingly relied on it to turn complicated problems into simple threats, and simple threats into convenient enemies. Republican campaigns spent millions on immigration advertisements during the 2026 election cycle, frequently connecting immigration with crime and insecurity, according to NPR’s analysis of AdImpact data.

Problems are not inevitable, but we do not have to solve them by blaming other people. Climate change can mean investing in renewable energy and protecting communities from extreme weather. Immigration can mean building a fairer system that recognizes the humanity of people seeking a better life. 

Artificial intelligence creates another problem: figuring out what is real in the first place. 

AI-generated images, videos, and voices are becoming increasingly convincing, and political campaigns are already using the technology in advertisements. The Wesleyan Media Project identified at least 164 AI-generated or AI-enhanced political advertisements by September 2026, representing nearly $80 million in spending. 

For students who consume much of their news through social media, that makes an already confusing political landscape even harder to navigate. This only makes fearmongering become much easier to spread.

That is why a politics of hope matters. Our generation should not have to choose between ignoring real problems and being terrified by them. We can acknowledge climate change, reform immigration, regulate emerging technology, and still believe that the future can be better.

Politics should not ask young people what we are afraid of. It should ask what we want to build.

Job’s Not Finished (Andrew Burchett, Emory University)

I want to have hope. Really, I mean it.

Polling is strong (knock on wood). Candidates have started campaigning on an actual platform that isn't merely 'we're not Trump.' There is a potential blue wave on the horizon.

I've seen this story before, and I can't help but feel a grim sense of déjà vu: Democrats gain momentum, win back a chamber, and do nothing. There's a running joke that goes: "If a genie gave Democrats three wishes, they'd negotiate it down to one, and then wish for something they think Republicans might like."

Voters aren't laughing. They're too busy checking to see if lettuce has been recalled again for E. coli, if it's even affordable. They're watching the rising national debt annually outgrow our GDP by two times. They wonder whether the government is going to place guardrails on artificial intelligence, a threat to our environment, our jobs, and even humanity, if done haphazardly.

We should be happy with a potential blue wave. If and when it happens, it will be built on community organizing, public outcry, and a public that outworked hundreds of millions of dollars in PAC money.

We can't be content. Our problems haven't gone away, and neither should we. Just as we've fought to get Democrats back in office, we need to fight for Democratic policy, not just platitudes or strongly worded emails. Democrats are seeing support because voters are tired of wondering if they can pay their medical bills, appalled at our willingness to sever ties with allies, and in horror at the damage we've done to our planet.

Voters believe that Democrats can fix these problems. If we aren't prepared to hold our elected officials accountable for solving them, then we shouldn't be surprised when we become the start of another untimely joke.

The Next 10 Years in Georgia - Decided in the Next 30 Days? (Isaac Fleischer, UGA)

99 Republicans and 81 Democrats. That’s the breakdown of the Georgia State House. This means that in order for Democrats to take control of the chamber by the end of 2030, we need to flip 10 seats without losing any; the 2026 election will be pivotal. 

So, as a young Georgian with a deep seated interest in improving the quality of life in our state, I began to ask myself: what will the next ten years of Georgia politics look like depending on the results of this election?

For the sake of simplicity, I’m going to discuss three scenarios. First, what happens if Democrats flip just three seats or less. Second, what happens if we meet our target of flipping five seats? Finally, what happens if Democrats pull off a historic win and flip seven or more seats?

In the first scenario, we wake up on the morning of November 4th with pits in our stomachs. Democrats will need to flip at least seven seats by 2030 and considering their defeat in the face of a projected blue wave, this will likely be an impossible task. Republicans will go on to control the State House in 2030, redistrict Democrats out of their seats, and continue to implement disastrous policy.

The next scenario is the most likely to occur. Democrats net a pick up of 4-6 seats and put themselves in a good position to flip the House by the end of 2030. Republicans will still control the chamber, but by a narrowing margin. Bipartisan legislation becomes more commonplace and the voice of Democrats becomes too large to ignore. In 2028, building on the momentum from 2026, Democrats pick up the remaining seats needed to flip the House, then hold it in 2030 to earn a seat at the table when Georgia's next maps are drawn, ushering in the next era of Georgia politics. 

Finally, if Democrats can manage to pick up 7 or more seats this election, the political landscape of Georgia would be turned upside down. Not only would Democrats be just three votes away from a House majority, but this historic victory would most likely be accompanied by big wins from both Jon Ossoff and Keisha Lance Bottoms. In 2028, needing a pick up of just 3 seats, Democrats take control of the House. With Keisha Lance Bottoms in the Governor’s Mansion, Democrats would have more political power in Georgia than Republicans for the first time since 2004.

The stakes are clear. Lose this November, and flipping the State House by the end of 2030 becomes extremely difficult. Win this November, and Democrats will have a fighting chance to gain a majority. The future of Georgia hangs in the balance of the 2026 elections. Will we allow Republicans to continue to enact harmful legislation for decades to come, or will we give ourselves the chance to retake power and solve the problems faced by Georgians?

Far- Right Rising Across The World? (Jesse Vu, UGA)

Last month, the far-right Alternative for Germany Party, also known as the AfD, secured a huge victory that has the potential to threaten the current ruling government headed by Fredrich Merz and worrying democratic leaders all across the world and threatening Chancellor Merz’s political power. Since its founding 13 years ago, the AfD, an ultra conservative and right-wing party that is classified by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency as an extremist group, has not been part of any State or Federal government. This could change after the September 6th results, when the party secured its biggest victory in recent history and emerged as the dominant political force in Saxony-Anhalt. Though this result only affects the Eastern State of Saxony-Anhalt, the victory serves as a warning to the rest of Germany and across Europe as the party has undertaken extreme anti-immigration and anti-democracy political rhetoric in the past.

Unfortunately, the recent AfD's historic victories in Germany are not an isolated political phenomenon but are part of a broader trend across European politics, as economic insecurity, immigration concerns and general dissatisfaction with the traditional establishment parties have created opportunities for far-right parties to move from the electoral margins to political power. The most notable example outside Germany has been Italy, where PM Giorgia Meloni and her Brothers of Italy party rose from the political margins to national power in 2022, demonstrating how a party with roots in Italy’s post-fascist political tradition could successfully transition into power, and how a country with much history with Fascism such as Italy or Germany could fall victim to the same far-right forces. France has experienced a similar growth in support for the far right with the rise of Marine Le Pen and the National Rally. Although the National Rally has not controlled the national government, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party has transformed from a party long isolated by much of the French political establishment into one of the country’s major electoral forces in recent years, demonstrating how the rise of ultra far-right parties in Europe is not an isolated experience and is part of a recent trend.

Unsurprisingly, the AfD’s victory received praise from across the Atlantic. In fact, President Trump celebrated the result on Truth Social, writing that Germany’s populist movement had a “really big night” and attributing its success largely to public dissatisfaction with the country’s immigration policies. Trump declared that the movement was “on the rise” and concluded his post with “MGGA”—an apparent reference to “Make Germany Great Again,” modeled after his own “Make America Great Again” slogan.

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