Joshua Pressley: Candidate For GA State House District 108
Election Date: November 3, 2026
Candidate Website: https://joshuapressley.com/
Candidate Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61580378384619
See your sample ballot and all candidates for this and every election here: https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/
Question 1 Topic: Defending Constitutional Rights
Over the past year, federal officers within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have detained individuals without cause and searched homes without a judicial warrant, which violates the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure.
Will you support the Fourth Amendment right to privacy and demand an end to unlawful conduct by DHS and other government agencies?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: Our bill of rights is our promise to all who call America home and to all who visit.
I will support our promise to the right to privacy as stated in the Fourth Amendment.
Question 2 Topic: Defending Constitutional Rights
Public reports estimate that since 2022, President Donald Trump has issued more than 100 threats to investigate, prosecute, imprison, or otherwise punish those who are critical of him, including news organizations and talk show hosts (such as Jimmy Kimmel). In September 2025, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi indicted former FBI director James Comey after Trump publicly called for his prosecution.
Do you agree that the president and other government officials should not attack political enemies or those exercising their First Amendment rights?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: All public officials deserve oversight and criticism if they are not serving the public good. I support the ability to exercise the promise of free speech in our bill of rights.
Question 3 Topic: Defending Constitutional Rights
Videos, court statements, and internal communications show that officers of the Department of Homeland Security, including ICE agents, have knowingly and criminally acted outside of their authority. Since the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent, the administration has prevented the state of Minnesota from conducting a proper criminal investigation of the perpetrator.
Do you agree that, subject to existing legal precedent, states have the right to prosecute crimes, and will you advocate for the investigation and prosecution of crimes committed by federal officers?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: No one is above the scrutiny of the law. If law enforcement of any kind, has
engaged in unlawful acts, they should be prosecuted for those crimes. Federal officers should not operate with impunity. They should operate with greater restraint.
Question 4 Topic: Commitment To Democratic Process
A landmark 2004 Princeton study found that a small group of elites and corporations have the greatest influence on U.S. legislation. This issue was exacerbated in 2010, when SCOTUS’s Citizens United decision paved the way for the creation of SuperPACs, which to date have spent more than $5 billion in anonymous special interest dollars to influence US elections and policy.
In your role, will you work to ensure that corporations and PACs are not able to exert undue influence on the legislative process?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: I will do everything in my power to make sure that the people are represented and their interests are upheld. Corporations are not people. The laws that are ratified and duly created should be created with people and their interests in mind. Not corps.
Question 5 Topic: Commitment To Democratic Process
The Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank that authored Project 2025, has catalogued every instance of voter fraud in federal elections since 1982 and found that it occurred exceedingly rarely—about once for every million votes. Still, unfounded claims of fraud are frequently used to cast doubt on election results and to advocate for more restrictive laws. President Trump has even called for Republicans to “nationalize” the elections, and on March 31, 2026, he signed an executive order to restrict absentee ballots.
As an elected official, will you help protect free and fair elections, and refute unfounded claims of fraud that undermine faith in our electoral process?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: I will fight to make sure that the facts regarding elections are front and center. People should know that our elections are not "rigged" as often claimed by Republicans. I will always stand to report the facts that are based on data that show the contrary.
Question 6 Topic: Commitment To Democratic Process
Though congressional district maps are usually only redrawn once a decade after the census, several states, including Texas and California, passed new laws in 2025 with the explicitly partisan purpose of gerrymandering to gain more seats in the House of Representatives. In Wisconsin and Illinois, gerrymandering has resulted in the winning party receiving about 25% more House seats than their vote share.
Do you agree that fair representation requires fair maps, and will you advocate for them?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: I will always advocate for maps that align with representing the communities in the most equitable way possible based on the information available. I will fight against race based and party based gerrymandering that does not consider the communities represented.
Question 7 Topic: Belief In System of Law
In the case of J.G.G. v. Trump, the administration disobeyed a federal court’s explicit order on March 15, 2025, to stop a deportation flight of Venezualan immigrants and to return any flights that were already in the air. The following year, on February 26, 2026, Federal Court Judge Patrick Schiltz issued an opinion detailing the Trump administration’s failure to comply with hundreds of court orders pertaining to Habeas petitions.
In your position, will you follow court orders and hold other officials accountable for failing to do so?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: Because I respect the rule of law as the highest authority in the state of Georgia and in the country, I would follow court orders and hold other officials to be accountable to the rule of law. Our country's authority is governed by law. No one is above the of law.
Question 8 Topic: Belief In System of Law
Donald Trump has personally profited an estimated $1.2 billion from cryptocurrency in the second term of his presidency while simultaneously acting to deregulate the industry.
Do you believe that a president and other government officials should be required to divest from conflicts of interest during their term in office, and will you commit to doing the same?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: I believe that the president should not be allowed to directly profit personally while in office from the fact that he is in office outside of his salary. When his personal interests conflict with the interests of the nation, the nation will suffer if he isn't forced to divest.
Question 9 Topic: Countering Authoritarianism
On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court struck down $175 billion of tariffs instituted by President Trump, determining that imposing these tariffs overstepped the bounds of his authority. The administration has also illegally withheld congressionally-appropriated funds from states and government agencies through executive action, per the Government Accountability Office.
Will you commit to supporting Congress’s power of the purse and demand an end to this form of executive overreach?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: Congress controls spending. I support that control remaining in the hands of congress. We must elect more people that will manage that control better and not leave the country with crippling debt, but not cut the services that Americans need to live.
Question 10 Topic: Countering Authoritarianism
In 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that the president is immune from criminal liability for “official acts,” making impeachment the only reliable check on presidential power.
Do you believe that Congress has the responsibility to conduct impeachment proceedings, as it did by investigating alleged corruption by President Biden, in order to prevent corruption, abuse of power, and unconstitutional acts for which the president is otherwise unaccountable?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: I believe that in order for our republic to continue, congress as representatives of the people, must hold those who abuse the power we give them, accountable. Our president and those who have abused power must be impeached and held accountable.
Question 11 Topic: Countering Authoritarianism
During his second term in office, Donald Trump has fired seventeen independent inspectors general and defunded or removed key staff from independent government watchdogs including the Office of Professional Responsibility, the Office of Government Ethics, and the Office of Special Counsel. The administration has also failed to keep adequate records, blocked the release of records (such as the Epstein Files), and claimed ownership of presidential records in violation of legal precedent and ethical standards.
In your role, will you work to ensure transparency and accountability through adequate record keeping and independent inspectors, and will you hold those who do not meet these standards accountable?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: I will hold all individuals holding office accountable for making sure that we are being transparent in our dealings. We owe the voting public access to us and how we use the resources that they provide to us. We are working on the public's behalf.
Question 12 Topic: Truth in Public Discourse and Decision-Making
Despite overwhelming scientific consensus on the benefits and risks of vaccines, some high-profile critics continue to make claims about vaccines that have been debunked.
Do you believe that RFK Jr.’s choice to staff the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices with people who push easily-refuted pseudoscientific theories is harmful to Americans’ health, and will you advocate for science-based decision-making?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: I believe that it is through the advocacy for science backed medical breakthroughs, we have extended the lives of Americans and people across the globe. I will advocate for science based empirical solutions to disease and health related problems.
Question 13 Topic: Truth in Public Discourse and Decision-Making
Many public officials make false assertions when they believe it is politically useful. Vice President J.D. Vance defended this practice after claiming Haitians were eating cats and dogs, saying “If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
Do you agree that lying about the facts voters use to make decisions distracts from the actual issues, and will you commit to accurately representing established facts?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: I believe that certain political factions seek to mislead the public with lies. I will do everything in my power to inform the public, even when the information does not paint the situation in the best light. I believe the public has a right to know the truth.