Hello, everyone.

I'm Lisa Graham, host of Morning Edition at WABE in Atlanta, and I want to welcome you to the Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Debate Series from the studios of Georgia Public Broadcasting.

The 2026 debate series was made possible by grants to the Atlanta Press Club from the Arthur M Blank Family Foundation and the Robert Charles Loudermilk Foundation.

This is the debate for Democratic candidates running for Georgia.

Secretary of State.

We have two journalists who will question the candidates for us.

Maya Holmes is a politics reporter for the Georgia Recorder.

Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon is a democracy reporter for Atlanta Civic Circle.

Welcome you both.

I'm going to kick off today's debate, asking each of the candidates to introduce themselves and tell viewers why they should be Georgia's next secretary of state.

Candidates will have 60s to introduce themselves.

We'll go in alphabetical order, starting with cam Ashley.

Hey, Georgia.

My name is Ashley and I'm running for Georgia Secretary of State.

I am a certified financial planner, a Chartered alternative investment analyst with a career in wealth management, a small business owner, a nonprofit founder.

Yes, a goat farmer, too.

I've spent my career managing complex systems and working on investment teams, overseeing $1 billion.

And with a decade on election protection.

And here's the reality this office runs four major systems election investment registrations, professional licensing and oversight of the investment industry.

It is not politics.

It is leading the economic success of our state.

I'm the only one on the stage with direct experiences across all four pillars, and the only one with a professional background in the investment space.

I'm ready to secure your elections.

Grow our businesses, expand the workforce, and protect families from financial fraud.

If you want someone who can fix the system.

Ashley, I'm sorry.

Your time is up.

Thank you for being here today.

Dana Barrett is next.

Thank you.

I'm Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett, and I'm running to be Georgia's next secretary of state.

I'm running because too many Georgians are struggling right now.

People can't afford to pay for gas at the pump or rent or child care or health care.

As a single mom and a breast cancer survivor, I know what it's like to have more bills coming in than money in the bank.

But the only way we solve the affordability crisis for Georgians is by choosing leaders we believe will bring real solutions to the table.

And the only way we do that is with free, fair, secure elections.

But our elections are under attack right now because Donald Trump and his Maga cronies know that if we vote in Georgia, they lose.

So they're doing everything in their power to stop us from voting.

That is why I was willing to go to jail to protect our elections in Fulton County.

And it's why I'm running to be Georgia's next secretary of state.

Dana Barrett, thank you.

Adrian Lowry junior, it's your turn.

Thank you.

Hi, Georgia.

I'm Adrian Canzoneri, junior candidate for Georgia secretary of state.

I'm a native of Marietta, Georgia, born and raised and crafted by what the red clay is that makes our state what it is.

I am a product of the Cobb County School District.

As a graduate of Hillgrove High School and a proud product of Grambling State University's College of Business, where I study business management.

I am a nonprofit founder.

I am a voter advocate, voter advocacy person that has gone across this nation in an effort to make sure that all communities have had their voices heard, amplified and valued and Georgia.

I am ready to do that same work for you in making sure that the barriers to the ballot are destroyed, that we are able to have our own bridges to the ballot for our voices to be amplified, and for you to be able to trust that this is a state that has your back.

I am Adrian Canzoneri, junior candidate for Georgia secretary of State, ready to serve you.

Thank you so much.

Penny Brown Reynolds, you're next.

Good evening.

I'm judge Penny Brown Reynolds, and I'm running for Georgia.

Secretary of State.

I'm the daughter of a single mother.

And my grandfather was a farmer.

I believed in the American dream.

And so I went on to become the governor's lawyer, where I had to work on complex policy decisions for Georgia.

And I delivered.

I went on to become a presidential appointee by President Biden, where I led the Civil Rights Division for one of the largest federal agencies in the federal government.

I have never forgotten where I've come from.

I'm a judge, and I took an oath to the Constitution.

The only judge that's running.

And more than that, I'm a pastor.

And what I know is my faith has undergird and given me the foundation for me to serve.

I have never forgotten where I have come from, and I will not forget you.

When it comes to voting rights, when it comes to economic empowerment, I am the person that you need.

Thank you.

Penny Brown Reynolds, thank you so much for the full set of debate rules, please visit Atlanta Press club.org.

We'll now go to the panel starting with Maya Homan, who will ask a question for everyone, all of the candidates, to answer.

Once again, you have 60s for your response.

Maya.

Thank you.

Georgia's ballot marking devices have come under fire from a small but vocal group of people who fear that ballots marked by a machine cannot be trusted.

What is the best solution for addressing people's doubts about the validity of Georgia's elections?

Dana Barrett, you first.

Thank you very much for the question.

Um, a lot of what we're seeing in terms of the mistrust of our elections is really about bad marketing.

It's really about Republicans trying to convince us something is wrong when it isn't.

At the end of the day, though, we're in a position now where there is a lot of doubt that's been shed on our elections, and we have a responsibility to rebuild that trust.

I believe that we need some sort of a hybrid system where we will have machines doing the best part of the job that they can do, while also having paper receipts to give people the confidence that what they're putting in is what is being counted, and that also those receipts can be used for hand recount if necessary.

Can ashling you are next.

I'd like to see us move to counting our votes.

The way we count money.

Right.

And we need systems in place that will produce audible trails.

We want accountability, verifiability, auditability, transparency, and we want accurate counting that if we mimic how we run and count money, we can achieve that and restore trust back into the system.

Um, and using a combination of both part machine and then part paper and part voter participation.

Thank you very much.

Cam Ashling.

Adrian.

Yes, thank you for the question.

And the way that we address this is by first and foremost, meeting people where they are.

Let's put numbers to the different fraudulent cases that people have been claiming exists.

And this is from a study that was actually done by the AFT union after going through the Heritage Foundation's data banks, of seeing that there were 77 cases of noncitizens that had voted 1999-2023.

And of those cases, there were ten that were of undocumented immigrants.

But with calculating all of that together, that comes up to less than 1% of the actual impact that this would have made onto our elections 1999-2023.

And so in an effort to make sure that people still understand that this has happened and fraudulent behavior must be dealt with, but we still need to bring their trust back to where we are now.

And this means that revamping our cybersecurity, revamping how we have these machines themselves, and giving people an educated process look as to what this is so they can trust that their vote is heard, amplified, and valued.

Thank you so much, Penny Brown Reynolds, it's your turn to respond.

One of the things that I know is that the well has been poisoned with wrong information.

And when you have no voter confidence, that undermines the very system I believe in.

Printable, verifiable ballots.

It's the only way that people can feel secure about the election.

But it's more than just that.

We'll do the audits.

Our elections were always secure until there was a movement to try to undermine, to try to create barriers for people to vote.

As secretary of State, I will do everything in my power because after all, I'm a judge and an attorney, and I will be assured that where the voters need to have confidence, we will give it to them.

And I am in favor of printable ballots so that they can have a receipt for those ballots.

But I can tell you that our elections are secure and where they are not, we will have audits.

But I do believe it's all about making certain that everything is transparent and accountable.

Thank you so much.

Penny Brown Reynolds.

Our panel will now ask a question to an individual candidate.

We'll start with Alejandro, who will ask a question of Adrian Khan, Senior Jr.. Once again, you have 60s for a response.

Mr.

Khan, senior, on your website, you say that you want to, quote, modernize ID verification for absentee ballots using flexible, secure methods and require open audits.

What do those terms mean in practice?

What specifically would you change about Georgia's current absentee voting procedures and audit processes?

Thank you for that question.

What I mean by that is actually speaking to my own personal story of what took place that got me involved in politics, and that is when my own vote was challenged back in 2020, when they told me that they had a question of my identity, there was a moment where they said I had to come back to the state in three days to prove it, or else they were throwing out my vote.

In this effort of how we also are able to go and create our own bank, our own financial institutions, and open up a bank account from wherever we are by just uploading our own driver's license through that data bank, as well as with the real ID of me and institutions that we have for military ID checks as well.

This is something that we can implement and integrate into our own identification checks for individuals.

So that way it is more convenient and more secure for them to check their identity in that manner, rather than inconveniencing a voter who is a registered voter from having to make the trip for three states over or across the entire country in an effort to make sure that they have their voice.

Heard.

Adrian Lowry Jr.. Thank you.

Maia, please ask a question of Dana Barrett.

Commissioner, it seems reasonably foreseeable that President Donald Trump would move to target Fulton County over its 2020 election records.

Upon returning to office.

My question for you is, was Fulton County prepared for the FBI's raid, and what would you have done differently in hindsight?

Well, yes, certainly Fulton County has been in the spotlight since the 2020 elections.

We all know this.

I certainly was not surprised when the FBI showed up to raid our warehouse, and nor was the county unprepared.

We did everything by the book.

We followed the law, but it was a sham process from start to finish.

I was there that day.

I saw them bring the first warrant, which was bogus, and have to go back and get a second warrant.

I saw the type of receipt that they gave.

I saw the actual receipt that they gave to our clerk when they took the boxes of ballots.

I saw the process firsthand and it was a sham, and it was aimed at setting us up for a state takeover of our elections, which is extremely dangerous.

Dana Barrett, thank you.

Alessandro, it's your turn to ask Penny Brown Reynolds a question.

Judge Brown Reynolds, on your campaign site, you state that you want to, quote, expand early voting sites and accessible voting centers across counties.

This is typically the purview of local elections officials as prescribed by state law.

Where do you see the need for more early voting sites, and how do you intend to use the state level office to accomplish that?

That's one of the best questions that anyone could ever ask me.

We have 159 counties, of which 120 of them are rural.

And unfortunately, some of the bigger counties have more resources than the other smaller counties.

I'm running a statewide campaign not for just Atlanta, Fulton County or DeKalb or Gwinnett, but for all of Georgia.

I would like to see consistency done throughout.

So what I would like to do.

You're correct that all of the elections are run by our counties, but they need support.

They need support from a secretary of state that's going to help them in any way that I can to do that with training, to do that, to advocate for resources they may need.

I think that we need to have consistency throughout all 159 counties, and that is one of the things that I think has been lacking, that we are not going from the top down.

We need to go from the bottom up and do everything that we can to partner with our local elections officials.

Penny Brown Reynolds.

Thank you.

Maya, you may ask a question.

During previous election cycles, you've worked as the AAPI constituency director for Senator Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff campaigns.

How would you work to increase voter participation and turnout as secretary of state, particularly among minority communities?

I love this question.

Thank you for the question.

I have been working very hard across the state for multiple cycles.

Now to get out the vote with our young voters, with our community.

As Secretary of State, I will increase language access to our minority community, make sure that they are participating more, going to them and not expecting them to always come to us.

And so I will be proactive instead of reactive when there is less participation.

And I will make sure that they feel comfortable and secure and supported when they participate.

Because right now, a lot of people are experiencing a lot of fear, right?

Reducing that is important for our community.

So I will continue to do that.

And the only person who can do that as Secretary of State.

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Kam.

Ashley, that concludes our first round.

Now, the candidates will ask a question to an opponent of their choice.

You'll have 30s to ask that question.

60s to respond.

And the person who asked the question will get a 32nd rebuttal.

Kam, Ashley, you get the first question of one of your opponents.

I always get the first question.

Okay.

I would like to to ask you, judge Penny, how would you.

Use the CRM system if you had to go and regulate and investigate a firm, for compliance purposes?

When we're talking about, you know, being a, uh, overseer of the financial industry.

Thank you for that question.

One of the things that she is speaking of is that that office regulates security.

One of the things I have to do when I come in is what I did in the federal government.

I have to do a data forensic review of what has been going on.

We know that there is not a lot of coordination between that office and the U.S.

Securities and Exchange Commission.

We understand that, but we need to first make certain, because I'm the only candidate that received the endorsement of the AfL-CIO, because I care about workers.

So I can't come into that office and tell the workers what they're doing and not doing.

So once I do that forensic review of what the employees are doing, I want to make certain that they're at capacity, that they have the resources that they need, that they can do the investigations that they're doing.

Then I want to, secondly, go into what is transparency?

Let's look at what they need.

And then if there is coordination between the state and the federal government.

Thank you.

Kam.

Ashley, do you have a rebuttal?

So I was really asking about the, um, the, the client, the CRM, the client relationship management system that the financial industry used to document the, um, the communication and the recommendations with our clients.

And usually that's how we can tell when there is a pattern of abuse or poor recommendation to warrant additional investigation.

Thank you.

Kim.

Ashley.

Thank you.

Adrian Canzoneri Jr., please ask a question to one of your opponents.

Yes.

My question is actually for Commissioner Dana with, uh, actually, as we have heard earlier, with the receipts that we would be receiving for individuals, uh, this is something that, you know, I have definitely thought about myself in wanting to implement, but then there's a concern of privacy.

How will you be able to effectively give the correct parameters of safety and privacy to the individuals after they have their.

Receipt?

Thank you for the question.

Um, look, privacy is of utmost concern.

Certainly.

Um, really in smaller counties, often more than in larger counties.

Um, I think the idea of having a paper receipt is to give people the confidence that what they put in is what is getting counted.

And I certainly don't think people have a concern about holding on to a paper receipt.

But I think one of the ways to handle that is to make a paper receipt optional.

Would you like to have a paper receipt or not?

Right now when we when we vote, we are actually we hold a piece of paper that shows not only the QR code, but a list of everyone we voted for.

Whether you choose to take a copy of that with you or not should be up to the voter.

Adrian, do you have a rebuttal?

Yes.

Um, so I will say again, this is something that I had thought about earlier on in, I want to say probably October or so was when I originally had thought of something like this.

But after talking with a few constituents, there was a huge concern when it comes to the safety of those who may not have the safety to vote how they would like, especially if they were to come home, or if someone were to tell them to come home with that type of receipt.

We must make sure that the systems that we put in place, although are definitely going to be in a manner to protect individuals, that we have these systems that are not servicing just the service, but are.. Adrian Jr., your time is up.

Thank you.

Penny Brown Reynolds, it's your turn to ask a question of an opponent.

Yes, miss Ashling, you've described yourself as being unique.

What unique ideas do you plan to bring to the Secretary of State's office?

Oh, I have a really great one.

Thank you for the question.

Okay, we say we care about our democracy.

We say we want everybody to vote.

I like to see the state of Georgia and our legislature and, governor make Election Day a state holiday at the very least.

Okay, we need to do that.

And so everybody can go vote on Election Day without having the many barriers, um, of taking time off of having kids, um, to take care of.

And so that's one great idea.

Like another idea that I want to do a little bit complicated, but we need a, have another law that protects the investment industry professionals, licenses.

Because right now, if your license lapsed in two years, you don't have it anymore.

But there are solutions to that too.

So I have ideas and solutions for many things.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Penny Brown Reynolds, do you have a rebuttal?

Yeah.

My rebuttal is this.

Anybody can run for office, but it takes a certain kind of person to run the office.

I run offices at the federal level, at the state level, and then I've been a judge.

Not only that, I'm an entrepreneur.

I've had businesses.

And so I will bring ideas because that's what you have to do.

But I will bring concrete solutions with both a 30 day plan and a 90 day plan, and then one year plan, because we're not take office in January, right after the next election, we have to face doing a presidential election.

And I'm ready on day one.

Penny Brown, Reynolds.

Thank you.

Dana Barrett, you may ask a question to one of your opponents.

Thank you.

My question is for Judge Reynolds.

Uh, judge, you've made your experience on the bench a key part of your campaign.

Could you share more about why you chose to resign less than halfway through your term?

Well, I'm glad you asked.

So that then you can answer the question as to why you dropped out of the race for chairman.

Let me say this to you.

I served on the bench for eight years, so that is not true at all.

Almost a decade.

But you know what I did?

Because my mother left and I had to take care of my siblings.

Everything I have done in my career, and I'm so proud of it.

I've done because I've been called to do it, not for political means.

I didn't run for Congress, then turn around and run for something and it didn't work out.

I'll jump in another race.

I've always worked on my convictions.

From there, I went on to work as a professor because I haven't earned a PhD.

And so every step of the way I have been proud of everything that I have done.

But I will not allow anyone to say a mistruth because I served for eight years, stood for three elections unopposed, and I am proud of my record.

And you ought to be too.

Penny Brown Reynolds.

Thank you.

Dana Barrett, do you have a rebuttal?

Yes.

Thank you.

Look, the concern here is what happens when public officials resign early.

When you step down, Governor Sonny Perdue, a future member of Donald Trump's cabinet, appointed your replacement.

That Republican judge is still on the bench today.

If we have a Republican governor and a secretary of state leaves office early, that governor will appoint the replacement.

That is too dangerous.

In this moment.

I am very committed to serving my entire term and will do whatever it takes to stand up for free and fair elections.

You respond to that.

30s.

Well, this is very new because you didn't do it before, and it's very new because when you were a podcaster for about 200 episodes, you conveniently talked about being a conservative.

So it's really wonderful now that we're caring about elections.

When I served for eight years and who came after that?

Every decision I've made, I've made for my family, and I've made based on the calling that I've had over my life.

And I am so absolutely proud of everything that I have done.

There's nothing dangerous about that.

That's political hyperbole.

Dana Barrett, you have 30s.

Thank you.

Rebuttal.

First of all, I've never said I was a conservative.

I've never been a conservative.

I've been a Democrat my entire life.

What I have always said is that I am a fiscally responsible Democrat, and I am socially inclusive, and I stand by that.

I have never said anything different.

I also stand by the fact that every job I have run for, which is three I did to fill a gap.

I ran for Congress against Barry Loudermilk because somebody needed to stand up to him.

I ran for commission because I was asked, and I'm running for this because I was asked.

Dana Barrett, thank you.

You are watching.

We are moving on, candidates.

We're moving on.

You are watching the Democratic primary debate for Georgia Secretary of State.

We'll now go back to the panel, who will ask questions to the candidates of their choice.

Until we run out of time.

Maya Homan, we start with you.

This question is for everyone.

How would you handle a voter less maintenance as Secretary of State?

And is the Electronic Registration Information Center, also known as Eric, an effective tool, or should Georgia rethink its participation in the partnership?

Well, I'll answer first.

So truth be told, my first day or my first 100 days in office will be dedicated to eradicating the voter registration purging process that has been disenfranchizing far too many Georgia and eligible Georgia voters who definitely need their voices heard, amplified and valued.

But on top of this, when it comes to actively making sure that this is a maintained list, along with the Eric system, once it gives us the information of what this list has of who is eligible to vote, we as the state, have the ability to use this to our best ability, and so instead of it being purging individuals from this vote, from the rolls themselves, we need to make sure that we go and check each and individual person that we may have a question about, along with making sure that we have same day registration.

This is a legislation that was supposed to be passed back in 2025 under SB 274, and it was not it was not able to make it out of committee.

This is something that I look forward to actually championing when we get back into this position.

Thank you.

Alessandro, direct your question to the candidate of choice.

My question is, again for all the candidates.

Georgia already uses a ranked choice voting system for military and overseas voters to avoid costly runoffs.

Yet a ban on expanding that system nearly passed the legislature this year.

As secretary of State, would you support, oppose or remain neutral on extending ranked choice voting to municipal or statewide elections?

Please state your position clearly and explain the specific reason for it.

And for a little bit of fun here.

If we had ranked choice voting now, who would you who would you tell voters to rank?

Second of the people on stage?

Dana Barrett, will you please answer?

Sure, I like that we're going into the fun.

Um, I am a fan of ranked choice voting.

I think it is the way we get better candidates, actually.

And it's actually significantly cheaper to run because we would not have to have all of the runoffs that we currently have.

So I would absolutely, absolutely support, um, keeping ranked choice voting and increasing that at the state and local level.

Uh, I am not sure I want to answer who I would choose second, but I guess I'll be brave and say, uh, if I had to choose second place, I would choose Mr.

Canzoneri.

Penny Brown Reynolds, would you like to answer that question?

Yes.

I'm in favor of ranked choice voting for the economics of it.

I believe there's fairness in it with regard to a second person, I have been completely focused on being the nominee, and that's all I care about.

Thank you.

Kam.

Ashley.

You know, I watched, um, you know, New York do the ranked choice voting when they did the mayor's race.

And Adrian.

When you do ranked choice voting system, you get more participation.

You're not constantly asking voters to come out again and come out again.

As somebody who has friends, so many runoffs, I understand the stress it takes on the candidates, you know, donors, the volunteer base.

So I would like to see a ranked choice system that works for Georgia Massie to like the second person.

I would run what I want to do in this race is expand our reach and our voting.

Um, our electorate.

Right.

And so I can expand that electorate.

I can get rural farmers, I can get AAPI voters, I can get, you know, single moms with little kids.

And I'm looking to see who can do that with me.

And I also like Adrian because he can get young voters.

And we know we need young voters to participate.

Andrew.

Thank you.

Adrian, can you follow up and answer that question?

Thank you.

So this is actually something that I've worked diligently with.

In fact, I've worked in the nonprofit space with organizations that choose to fight for ranked choice voting across the nation.

And this is something that I feel as if, as all of us have stated, that this is a way that we can save on taxpayer dollars implemented into our special elections.

As now, Georgia has become special election central, and we will be able to cut back on so many of these different fundings that that should not be dwindling.

How we have taxpayer dollars spent.

And as far as someone who would be.

For the second, I genuinely will say this.

I feel as if whoever is willing to champion the cause of the people, regardless of of affiliation, regardless of the demographic, regardless of the rural community or the, the, the urban community, the suburban community, whoever is able to make that a point, then they would have my second vote.

Thank you so much, Maya.

We go back to you and your question will be for all four candidates.

All right.

Georgia will likely start the process of procuring a new election system in 2027.

What qualities would you like to see in the state's new election equipment?

Cam Ashley, you first.

One, I want to see taxpayers get your bang out of their buck for how much this would cost.

We're looking at 150 million or so dollars.

If the legislature does this, we better be getting really clean, really fair, very auditable, easy to maintain system that we can count on that will capture the voters intent and counted the way voters voted.

So that's what I'm looking for in this system.

I want a paper trail.

Um, of course I want it to be safe and secure from being hacked is another one.

I have a very, very stringent list.

You want me to do this because I am a financial analyst.

I will shop and look for the the best system, and then I will negotiate it to get the cheapest price.

That's important.

And you want me to do that as a financial analyst?

Kim.

Ashley.

Thank you.

Dana Barrett, will you answer the question?

Sure.

Thank you for the question.

Look, I have a background in technology and helping clients select systems is something I've done through most of my career.

We need to have a system for Georgia's elections that is easily maintainable.

That will be something that will last us for years, because these are major investments and it needs to be secure.

We need to have something that is is very focused on the whole process and the cyber security that we need throughout.

And this is my background and experience, uh, the implementation of a new system will take a lot of effort across a lot of counties, and I'm prepared to do that work.

Thank you.

Dana Barrett, Adrian Junior, please answer.

Well, one thing that I would definitely love to see is that with this new system, it comes with the education necessary so people understand how it works.

I feel as if there's too much mystery when it comes to this.

And this is where transparency really needs to come into the office.

We need to be able to educate voters on how this process works, on how their vote is heard, on how it is secured.

So that way when they go to cast their ballot, they they go and cast it with full confidence that the state has their back to accurately report what it is and who it is that they voted for and where they voted in an effort to make sure that no one feels neglected from the system.

So this is something I would definitely love to see.

I don't know if it will come in the form of a of a schoolhouse Rock video or something of that nature, but we definitely need a way to educate our our Georgians on how the process works to avoid any McCarthyism in the future.

Thank you.

Penny Brown Reynolds, will you please answer the question?

Our machines are about 7-years-old.

When the next Secretary of takes next Secretary of State takes the office in January, we'll have about a year before the national elections are.

The request for proposal is about to go out for these machines.

And so it's going to be critical that we get this right.

It's really one of the most important things that the next secretary of state is going to have to do.

Secure security is everything.

Those are the four core principles that I'm wanting to make certain when I'm secretary of State, that it's secure, that it is accessible, that we make certain that everyone can have accessibility with regard to the machines.

We also need transparency because right now, our elections, people are doubting them.

And it's so important because they'll probably last with us about another 7-8 years, just as our previous ones.

And then we have to be able to have audits, because that's the only way we'll be able to check the accuracy of the machines.

Thank you.

Alejandro, you have the next question for all the candidates.

Georgia Law makes the Secretary of State, the state's chief elections officer.

But since 2024, uh, we saw the secretary of state removed from the state election board, which has significant power over election rules, and local officials.

If that board takes actions you believe are legally wrong or would disrupt an election, what can you actually do and what can't you do?

Penny Brown Reynolds, please take that question.

Thank you.

One of the most disturbing things that occurred is when the Secretary of State was removed as the chair of the state elections board after 63 courts determined that there were no frauds.

After a number of audits, after Republican Secretary of State certified the election with a very popular governor who endorsed that they used.

They being those who.

The Maga, Donald Trump and others.

They want to do everything they can to try to control our elections.

The Constitution is very clear about the role of the Secretary of State.

And so for me, I believe that I have to follow the law because I'm not above the law.

But there are ways that as an executive, we have to be able to work together.

I know we're in a primary now, but we have to have a consensus builder who will then put the voters first over politics.

I will do that.

I have the ability to do that because I'm a judge and I've done it before.

Thank you.

Adrian Junior, please answer the question.

Thank you for that question.

And the biggest way that we'll be able to fight against this is with coalition.

Throughout the duration of my campaign, starting in July and going on forward, I have been across the state meeting individuals everywhere, including various individuals who are also running for office all across the state, and these legislators who are going accurately to get into office to create new legislation that will give powers and respect to the different protections that individuals need, is very, very central to making sure that we can defend our democracy no matter what.

But the biggest thing and the brightest thing that a secretary of state can do is be the advocate for voting rights no matter what.

As the chief executive of elections, you will need to make sure that people know that you have an act, an accurate depiction of what voting is supposed to be, and where disenfranchisement is at.

So individuals will know when they are being harmed and when they are actually being heard correctly.

And this is something that I know for a fact that I can do, since I have done the work to.

Prove it.

Thank you.

Dana Barrett, would you like to answer the question?

I would thank you.

Um, look, the state elections board is completely Maga controlled and they pose the biggest threat to our votes in the state of Georgia.

If the state elections board tries to take over the elections in Fulton County, the largest county with the largest concentration of Democrats, we will be in bad shape.

If I'm Secretary of State, first of all, I will hopefully be working with the Democratic governor and a Democratic legislature to try to get the Secretary of state reinstated as the chair and a voting member of the state Elections Board.

But if that doesn't happen, I still think we have to use every tool in our toolkit.

As the elected secretary of state.

In the same way that I do as a Fulton County commissioner, and that includes the bully pulpit.

It includes speaking loudly, making sure citizens are aware of the infractions by the state elections board, and it means working across the aisle, across all 159 counties, to make sure that the counties are speaking up, because they don't want these things to happen either.

Ashley, please answer the question.

So on this stage, I have the most grassroots on the ground in Georgia.

Voter protection, uh, experience.

I have ran 20 plus team curing, rejected absentee ballots.

And sometimes that includes Republicans.

I don't ask, I we just do that work.

I have testified in court for our voters.

I have also, you know, Sue and take legal action to fight SB 202.

And I will continue to do that and be an election leader so that we can always keep our rights to vote that I hold so sacred as a political refugee seeking freedom here in the United States.

Um, you know, the state election board can go only as far as the public and the voter.

Let them.

We will not let them.

Kemp.

Ashley, thank you so much.

Maya.

We go back to you and you can ask a question of a candidate of your choice.

Um, for Commissioner Barrett, you represent Fulton County, which is one of the largest counties in Georgia.

Um, but conducting elections can be costly, particularly for smaller rural counties where poll workers sometimes outnumber voters during special and off year elections.

So what do you see as the best way to reduce administrative, administrative costs for those smaller counties without restricting access to the ballot box for residents?

Yeah.

I mean, I thank you for the question.

I've talked a lot about the differences in resources that, uh, the, the counties have, depending on the size of the county and what their budgets are.

One of the advantages I have as a county commissioner is that I talk to and work with regularly.

County commissioners from across the state.

So I'm well aware of the budgetary differences.

I think, you know, one of the things we have to do is look at how we raise the budgets in those counties to make sure that they can do everything they need to do, because their elections need to be run as smoothly as the elections in a larger, more, more well-funded county.

So I think the Secretary of State can set policies and procedures, uh, to give the counties guidance on what to do and also can help with funding.

And that's something I would do.

Alessandra, it's your turn to pick a candidate and ask a question.

Um, my question is for a Commissioner Barrett.

Um, Mr.

Canzoneri earlier raised an interesting point about your idea of receipts in the situation where someone's vote can be coerced if they're told to bring home a receipt, maybe by a spouse, maybe they're part of a cult.

Who knows?

Can you address that concern?

Um, head on, please?

Yeah.

No, honestly, thank you for that question.

Thank you, Mr.

Canzoneri, as well.

I think it's a very good point.

And I think the whole idea here is that we're trying to rebuild confidence in our elections.

And so what do we have to do so that people walk in, cast their ballot and feel like what they put in is what got counted.

I'm open to whatever systems are going to work best.

Whatever combination of paper and technology that's going to work best for the state.

I'm very open to hearing all different ideas, and that's going to be part of the process.

When I take office, doing a full evaluation of all of the options and coming up with the best one that takes all of those things into consideration.

So the idea of a hybrid system is where I am focused, and whether or not you walk out with a paper receipt is not the critical piece.

Dana Barrett Thank you.

Maya, we go back to you.

You can ask a question of a specific candidate, or you can ask all the candidates your question.

Um, I my question is for all the candidates.

Um, there is a chance that you would get elected to a divided government.

So how would you plan to work with candidates of the opposing party if you were elected?

Kim.

Ashlyn, you first.

I'm the best, most nonpartisan and credible person to do this.

And you know, why is that?

I'm not backed by insiders of this party.

I am not a career politician.

I am a community organizer.

I'm a financial person.

I will run the office as it should be ran based on numbers.

Okay, this is a bean counting office.

This is an engine office.

I'm an engine bean counting operator of complex system.

And so I will communicate things and, um, to my other friends on the other side, through business, through finance, through financial tools and charts that they can understand.

And I will get their buy in and they are not going to be questioning my intent and my motive because my background will prove and show that.. Kim.

Ashlyn.

Thank you.

Adrian Canzoneri junior, please answer the question.

Thank you for that question.

When it comes to being able to pull over independent voters as well as Republicans who may be tired of seeing what their party has been doing thus far, I'm very proud to say that I have the endorsement of Shawn Harris from Georgia's 14th Congressional District, who was able to swing a ruby red district by 25 points.

And this was an endorsement that I was able to earn, having been able to be on the ground with him and his team day in and day out, in an effort to make sure that everyone knew that they could trust new leadership in that district.

On top of this, being able to say that I have the endorsement of the Young Democrats of Georgia who are all across the state, whether rural, whether urban, whether suburban, they are everywhere.

And in an effort to make sure that their voices are heard and that they are civically engaged as well.

This is something that I have always championed.

And on top of all of this, being a native of this state and having understood everything that this state can be, I know what Georgians need, and they need someone to serve them.

Thank you, Penny Brown.

Reynolds, please answer the question.

As the only candidate in this race on the Republican or the Democratic side, I've served in all branches of government as the governor, governor's lawyer.

I had to work with the legislature, and I did it with results.

I worked for Pierre Howard because I was chief of staff and general counsel in the Senate.

So I know the legislative process.

As a judge, I had to understand, and as a licensed mediator and arbitrator, that we have to get along.

I know that we are divided.

And long after this president is gone, I will still be secretary of state once I am elected.

It's our only survival.

I know that we're saying we're too divided, but my theme for my campaign is, I believe, and I believe that there is something better.

I believe as a pastor, I have to that we can be able to find common ground to be able to work for the people.

Too often, politicians want to put politics over people, and I'm here to put the people over politics.

Thank you.

Dana Barrett, please respond.

Thank you for the question.

Um, I am a sitting Fulton County Commissioner on a board that can often be very divided, but I work across the aisle every day on every issue and have been able to pass legislation just in the last several weeks, have passed several pieces of legislation for affordable housing, with a unanimous vote.

I passed some legislation to benefit small business with a unanimous vote.

Uh, we work together across the aisle in Fulton County all of the time, and I do it purposely with doing the work, being prepared and talking through the issues with my colleagues.

And that is the work that I will continue to do when I'm Secretary of State.

Thank you.

Dana Barrett.

Alessandra, it's your turn to ask one candidate a question or all of the candidates.

Your choice.

Ask all the candidates a question.

Um, every four years we hear candidates for Secretary of state talk about the need to expand licensing reciprocity.

Everyone says they want that Democrats, Republicans, they want to make licensing reciprocity more accessible, easier.

Please be specific about what professions are in most dire need of licensing reciprocity right now.

And what will you do to achieve it?

Dana Barrett, let's begin with you.

Well, look, I think anybody with a license coming from another state needs that ability to be licensed here and to do the work.

We have delays here.

You know, we have a Secretary of State's office that has allowed that to continue.

I was just talking to a woman who's a owns a salon and one of her stylists, uh, moved from another state and had to keep going back and forth to do work in her original state because she was not able to get her license here.

And it took over 30 days.

That is someone's livelihood.

That is not acceptable.

So I think it crosses multiple professions, but I think there are, um, there are a lot of things we could do to improve the process and make the state better for licensed professionals in general.

Thank you.

Adrian Junior.

Thank you for that question, because that goes directly to the problem when it comes to individuals who have are in these different professions, especially the therapists profession, the need for mental health advocacy is at an all time high, especially when we are living in a political climate where every single day Georgians have this understanding and then a misunderstanding of what is happening in rooms that they are not able to be a part of, and that can raise a lot of concerns and a lot of extremes, a lot of anxiety and depression can really plague our communities.

In an effort to make sure that people have access to the health care that they need for their mental health.

We must also make sure that the therapist license is able to get to them in a timely fashion.

So we have more people within this workforce that are able to meet Georgians where they are, as well as nurses.

When one nurse is not able to get their license, then that's one hospital bed that is full and that is one more funeral that will unfortunately have to be taken care of, of which is under our office as well.

We need to meet people where they are, especially when it comes to their licenses.

Thank you.

Penny Brown Reynolds, please answer.

We have 7,000 700,000 professions in the state of Georgia, 40 different boards.

When I was an assistant attorney general, I represented one of those boards.

Remember, leadership matters.

Experience matters.

And I've had experience in just about anything that touches this office.

Absolutely.

For license reciprocity, it's one of my priorities because of the delays, this office has been used as a means for the secretary of state to park themselves there until they run for governor.

I'm actually running for secretary of state because I want the office to be run properly.

I've heard from nurses and contractors and everyone.

I'm a licensed person.

I'm licensed by the bar, and now we're moving to a system where we can be licensed in other places.

So it's my priority to make certain that we remove the red tape.

Government does not have to handle things the way that it's being done.

I have the experience to do it.

I know how to do change management.

We'll use technology, remove the red tape and we'll get it done.

Thank you.

Cam Ashling please answer the question.

You know, so talk is cheap.

And this is probably why you heard everybody say, let's go and get more states to reciprocate licenses.

But nobody does it.

Okay.

If you want somebody who talks well and speaks well, you vote for somebody else.

If you want somebody to go do things and get it done and you get me, you vote for Cam Ashling today.

Okay?

And as to, you know what we need the most, I would say we need to get more reciprocity with our skilled tradesmen.

Because right now, I don't know.

You guys know, but we lose them.

Okay.

I had a whole entire post from candidate cam about how do we get back our tradesmen because they get licensed here, but because the wages are so bad, we lose them all to Idaho.

And, you know, other states, and we need to start getting them back.

We need to.

So we have a shortage here because of that.

And one way we get them back is with somebody who has a license, who cares about what it takes to get one, who can then negotiate it and bring people back.

Cam.

Ashley, thank you so much.

Sorry you're out of time.

Thank you.

This next question will come from Maya, and it will be to all candidates.

And you have only 30s to answer the question.. By now, I'm sure you've all heard of the case of First Liberty Building and Loan.

So as Secretary of State, what tools would you use to make sure that Ponzi schemes and other fraudulent business practices are not able to defraud Georgia residents?

Let me take this one.

This is Cam Ashley.

Can I do that?

Thank you.

Take the question.

You know, as a certified financial planner and a former a former stockbroker, I take it very seriously and very personally, when people go out of their way to scam Georgians in this Ponzi scheme, there's a gap there.

We need more investigators.

Right now, the state of Georgia has ten.

And for a state our size, we should have 40.

Thank you.

Cam.

Ashley.

Sorry you're out of time.

Penny Brown Reynolds.

This question is very important to me because I care deeply about former prosecutor.

And so fraud is rampant, particularly for our seniors.

It is a priority for me.

And so the office has not been used at capacity that it needs to.

I would increase the number of employees that we have that specifically deals with this.

We can then use models for PSAs to get the word out.

I can work with the Attorney General's office and other law enforcement to help in this area.

Thank you.

Dana Barrett.

Thank you for the question.

I agree with my colleagues that we need more investigators in the Secretary of State's office, but we also need a better follow up.

When people have complaints, we need a better complaint system.

I will have a 24/7, both phone and online complaint filing system.

I'll work closely with our attorney general to make sure that we're follow up, following up in a timely manner on all complaints.

Unlike what the current Secretary of State did in the First Liberty case.

All right, Adrian Junior, the pressure's on.

30s.

Well, truth be told, I believe I must echo all of my colleagues as well when it comes to this, because we need to have more investigation, more investigators in an effort to make sure that people can trust this system.

But as well as going against all the different Ponzi schemes themselves, we need to call out, if you see something, say something.

And when it comes to us having a Secretary of state office that is accessible, where people can let their concerns be heard, this is something that I am definitely looking forward to reinvesting in and making sure that Georgians can access the Secretary of State to get the job done.

Thank you.

Adrienne.

Thank you.

All of the candidates.

That's all the time we have for questions.

The candidates will now have 60s for a closing statement.

Dana Barrett, let's start with you.

Thank you very much.

Um, look, the job of Secretary of State is really about empowering Georgians to decide their own future, both by voting and by building businesses.

I've been fighting to protect our elections for years now as a Fulton County commissioner, a seat I won by beating a longtime Republican incumbent in a district that was gerrymandered for him in the last four years, Maga extremists have come for our elections board three times.

Twice in 2023, and then again once in 2025, when they threatened to put me in jail.

Every time I fought back and won.

That is the fight that I'm going to take statewide.

I am uniquely qualified to be Georgia's next secretary of state, because I know what small business owners need.

I am one, I know how to manage a technology operation because I've done it, and I know how to stand up to bullies and fight for this democracy because I am doing it every single day.

Dana Barrett Thank you.

Penny Brown Reynolds, it's your turn.

I want to thank everybody for this opportunity and taking the time to listen.

I have, without question and without debate, shown you that I am the most qualified person for this job, not only because I'm an attorney and a judge, but I've served in all branches of government.

Why is that important?

You cannot bring private sector business and not really understand how to operate a state agency.

I would be the chief elections officer, and I will defend with everything that I have your right to vote.

But it also requires an executive who knows how to get things done.

If you give me that opportunity, I won't use political rhetoric or hypothetical seriousness or anything like that.

I have done the work all of my life.

I've been called for this.

I will not forget about you.

I will do everything in my power to honor you.

If you give me the opportunity to do this job, I'm qualified, I'm experienced, and I have the expertise.

Thank you, thank you.

Cam.

Ashlyn, you are next.

Georgia.

I came here when I was eight as a refugee child.

Georgia gave me a home.

My family was built here to escape communism.

You know, I built my my business.

I'm a single mom.

Um, and the love of Georgia is why I'm in this race.

I want to give back to the state that gave me everything.

I have fought for this democracy, and I will continue to do that so that everybody has the right to make a living, raise a family, you know, work your business and have that American dream that I had when I was young.

So this is why.

Kim.

Ashley, thank you, thank you.

Adrian Costner.

Junior, you get the final statement.

Thank you.

Thank you for having this having us here.

Thank you for allowing us to share our platforms on this, this fantastic show.

Uh, my heart goes out to all of those in South Georgia who are being ravaged by the fires right now.

And I want to say thank you.

A special thank you to all of the poll workers that are working out in this rain today, as you are still making sure that people's voices are heard, amplified and valued.

Georgia, the time for change is now the time for us to be able to stand up to what we know is going on, and all the fraudulent things that are happening from being us, having our own voices go and be destroyed and neglected.

We cannot allow for this to stand by any longer.

And so for everybody that is on this stage right now, we are all dedicated to serving you.

And I promise you, as your next Secretary of State, you will be involved in every single pull of a pen, every single ink that is dropped on any legislation, any policy, you will be in mind.

I'm Adrian Canzoneri, junior candidate for Georgia secretary of state, ready to serve you.

Thank you.

And time flies.

Thank you.

All of the candidates.

I'm Lisa Ram.

Thank you for joining us for the Atlanta Press Club.

Loudermilk-Young Debate Series.

Good evening.