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Big undervote surfaces in review of Georgia results

A watchdog group has found a mysterious discrepancy of 127,000 Georgians who cast ballots in November for most contests but not for the lieutenant governor race won by Republican Geoff Duncan.

The findings of the group, the Coalition for Good Governance, are detailed by The Root, which reports "the undervote wasn't concentrated in Democratic areas. It seemed to specifically happen in black neighborhoods. Even stranger, the black voters' absentee mail ballots didn't reflect the drop-off, only the people who voted on election day and people who voted on machines in early voting."


The position has minimal power in Georgia, so "there's no reason anyone would rig an election for lieutenant governor," said Jason Johnson, The Root's politics editor. "But anyone who knows Georgia politics wouldn't be surprised that there were questions about any election involving Brian Kemp," the Republican who oversaw the elections as secretary of state and was also narrowly elected governor.

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Entrance Sign at the University of Florida

Universities are embracing “institutional neutrality,” but at places like the University of Florida it’s becoming a tool to silence faculty and erode academic freedom.

Getty Images, Bryan Pollard

When Insisting on “Neutrality” Becomes a Gag Order

Universities across the country are adopting policies under the banner of “institutional neutrality,” which, at face value, sounds entirely reasonable. A university’s official voice should remain measured, cautious, and focused on its core mission regardless of which elected officials are in office. But two very different interpretations of institutional neutrality are emerging.

At places like the University of Wisconsin – Madison and Harvard, neutrality is applied narrowly and traditionally: the institution itself refrains from partisan political statements, while faculty leaders and scholars remain free to speak in their professional and civic capacities. Elsewhere, the same term is being applied far more aggressively — not to restrain institutions, but to silence individuals.

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