FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – As rookie District 26 State Rep. Lauren McDonald (R-Cumming) prepared for his second day in the Georgia General Assembly, election reform and his anger over how Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger handled the Jan. 5 election was clearly on his mind.

State Rep. Lauren McDonald

“Dealing with the Secretary’s Office was horrible,” he said. “When you tried to get answers you couldn’t get through to them and they wouldn’t return calls. Out of respect for people running for office, especially statewide office, there should have been better communications with their office. That was my big disappointment.”

On election reform, McDonald said, “We have to get rid of the no-excuse ballots. That has got to change. You have to do a lot of listening when it’s your first term in office and one idea I heard floating around is the appointment of an elections commission to oversee all statewide elections. We have to have fair elections in this state. Both sides deserve that.”

Another front-burner issue this year is COVID-19. “That falls on us to get this vaccine out promptly,” he said. “State health departments are having a tough time with distribution right now because of a lack of staff.” The rollout of Gov. Brian Kemp’s plan to expand access to the coronavirus vaccine to people 65 and over hit a wall Monday as health department websites crashed and phone lines were overwhelmed. Georgia Department of Public Health officials called for patience Monday.

Lawmakers will receive committee assignments later this week. McDonald said he hopes to serve on Regulated Industries, Transportation and Game, Fish and Parks, which hears legislation on the state’s natural resources, including Lake Lanier.

“The lake is very important to me,” McDonald said. “The Army Corps of Engineers is a pretty powerful group and I want to work with them to make sure they continue to work with our citizens.”

McDonald’s father Lauren “Bubba” McDonald Jr. was re-elected to a fifth term as Georgia Public Service Commissioner Jan. 5. He served in the Georgia House for 20 years.

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