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Republican war on democracy: GA Repubs shut down 75% of black voting sites

 
 
 
Let me tell you a little bit of what's going on in Georgia. But, first I would love to know where these sites are being closed down because none have been closed down in my county and since we have three full weeks of early voting plus it's not that hard to get an absentee ballot, I don't see this as the biggest problem currently facing minority voters.

As most of you know, we currently have a dynamic, highly qualified black female running for governor. Her GOP opponent is currently Secretary of State, which means that he is in charge of the November election. He's refused to step down despite being requested to by many. He's a total asshole and far more conservative than our current Republican gov. He's been an incompetent SOC in the opinion of many as well as a Trump supporter. He would take our increasingly progressive state back in time.

Currently, Stacey Abrams is ahead of Kemp in the polls. The latest thing that we've heard he is doing is having people removed from the
voter rolls if their IDs don't exactly match their names on their voter registration. I handed out the voter roll website to all of the black women that I know at the senior center and encouraged them to check and make sure everything matches up. Race is also listed on the voter rolls. While this was probably originally done for statistical purposes, I fear it's now being used for nefarious purposes. I read about this in the NYTimes, so I assume someone leaked that the GOP was trying to purge minorities from the rolls. My husband and I have been telling black folks that we know, as well as strangers that we run into, not only to vote, but to make sure and check their registrations on the site. So far, only one black woman has told me that she won't vote. I asked her friends to talk to her about this. I've convinced at least one young black woman to vote. She is registered but has never voted. I know I'm only one person, but I am encouraging other Democrats, both black and white to get the word out. I don't know what else to do.

We have another huge problem. Our voting machines are old, and Kemp refused to consider replacing them. An 11 year old child demonstrated how easily they could be hacked, and there is no paper trail. We do have the option of asking for absentee ballots, but I know most people won't do that. Most of us vote early and in my county there is only one location to vote early, but it's in a very convenient location. so closing down voting sites is probably the least of our problems. Sometimes when obvious things like that are done, it actually makes people more determined to vote. It's the hidden things that worry me. Most of my black friends are very skeptical that this election is going to be fair. I don't know what else we can do to stop Kemp from winning this election by any means necessary. This is highly frustrating for those of us who see progressive change happening in Georgia, but don't trust our voting process. I've voted since 1970, but I've never seen anything like this.
 
southernhybrid said:
But, first I would love to know where these sites are being closed down because none have been closed down in my county
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As the linked article in the OP says...

The Randolph County elections board is scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss a proposal that would eliminate seven of nine polling locations in the county, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia. Included in the proposed closures is Cuthbert Middle School where nearly 97 percent of voters are black.
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southernhybrid said:
Let me tell you a little bit of what's going on in Georgia. But, first I would love to know where these sites are being closed down because none have been closed down in my county and since we have three full weeks of early voting plus it's not that hard to get an absentee ballot, I don't see this as the biggest problem currently facing minority voters.

As most of you know, we currently have a dynamic, highly qualified black female running for governor. Her GOP opponent is currently Secretary of State, which means that he is in charge of the November election. He's refused to step down despite being requested to by many. He's a total asshole and far more conservative than our current Republican gov. He's been an incompetent SOC in the opinion of many as well as a Trump supporter. He would take our increasingly progressive state back in time.

Currently, Stacey Abrams is ahead of Kemp in the polls. The latest thing that we've heard he is doing is having people removed from the
voter rolls if their IDs don't exactly match their names on their voter registration. I handed out the voter roll website to all of the black women that I know at the senior center and encouraged them to check and make sure everything matches up. Race is also listed on the voter rolls. While this was probably originally done for statistical purposes, I fear it's now being used for nefarious purposes. I read about this in the NYTimes, so I assume someone leaked that the GOP was trying to purge minorities from the rolls. My husband and I have been telling black folks that we know, as well as strangers that we run into, not only to vote, but to make sure and check their registrations on the site. So far, only one black woman has told me that she won't vote. I asked her friends to talk to her about this. I've convinced at least one young black woman to vote. She is registered but has never voted. I know I'm only one person, but I am encouraging other Democrats, both black and white to get the word out. I don't know what else to do.

We have another huge problem. Our voting machines are old, and Kemp refused to consider replacing them. An 11 year old child demonstrated how easily they could be hacked, and there is no paper trail. We do have the option of asking for absentee ballots, but I know most people won't do that. Most of us vote early and in my county there is only one location to vote early, but it's in a very convenient location. so closing down voting sites is probably the least of our problems. Sometimes when obvious things like that are done, it actually makes people more determined to vote. It's the hidden things that worry me. Most of my black friends are very skeptical that this election is going to be fair. I don't know what else we can do to stop Kemp from winning this election by any means necessary. This is highly frustrating for those of us who see progressive change happening in Georgia, but don't trust our voting process. I've voted since 1970, but I've never seen anything like this.
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Randi Rhodes was talking about this on her show yesterday. The skullduggery by Kemp is astonishing, especially concerning the Kenesaw University elections lab shenanigans. Astounding.
 
A mostly black Georgia county decided not to close most of its polling places after all

And they sacked one of the scumbags who helped make the decision, but not the state officials who tried to implement it....

The plan to close 7 of 9 polling places in a predominantly black and liberal-leaning rural Georgia county has been reversed.
After drawing nationwide media attention, condemnations from two candidates for governor, and threats to sue over racist voter suppression, the Randolph County elections board on Friday reversed their decision to close the majority of the polling precincts.
“We would like to acknowledge the concern that has been expressed about the consolidation and polling places from within Randolph County and throughout the state and country,” the two-member Randolph County Board of Elections wrote in a statement Friday, following a morning meeting, which reportedly lasted only one minute. “The interest and concern shown has been overwhelming, and it is an encouraging reminder that protecting the right to vote remains a fundamental American principle.”

Initially, the board argued the precincts had to shutter because they weren’t compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act. Opponents of the move, however, pointed out that closing the precincts would likely leave residents unable to vote and, thus, disenfranchised.

“This is a victory for African-American voters across Georgia who are too often subject to a relentless campaign of voter suppression,” Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said in a statement. The Lawyers’ Committee had sent a “pre-suit demand letter” to the board, on behalf of the Georgia Coalition for the Peoples’ Agenda, the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP, and the New Georgia Project. “We’re pleased that the Board has seen fit to bow both to needs of the electorate and the dictates of the law and reject this poorly conceived consolidation of polling places.”


The decision to close the precincts was first recommended by elections consultant Mike Malone. When speaking at public hearings, Malone told residents that Brian Kemp, Georgia’s secretary of state and the Republican candidate for governor, had recommended consolidating precincts, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
When the Journal-Constitution interviewed him, however, Malone told reporters that he didn’t remember Kemp making such a recommendation. Kemp’s office reportedly recommended Malone, who has also donated $250 to Kemp’s campaign, for the elections consultant job.
Malone was fired Wednesday.
Before the board’s decision, Kemp’s office issued a statement declaring that he did not support the closures. “We strongly urged local officials to abandon this effort and focus on preparing for a secure, accessible, and fair election for voters this November,” he said.
In a Medium post, Abrams opted for a much stronger condemnation. “Georgia then spent decades creating barriers to prevent these historically-disenfranchised communities from exercising their constitutional right,” she wrote. “But a proposal to eliminate nearly every polling location in a Black Belt county belongs in a history textbook, not the current events section.”
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And this is why we have to keep protesting and circulating article like this...it can change things.
 
I'll trust the actual voting rights people there - the ones sounding the alarm bells - over your opinion, Derec.

Regardless, it's worth noting that this isn't even the third time in recent history we've had a republican state outright that suppressing the black vote is very important to them. Certainly makes Roberts' opinion that this sort of thing was relegated to the past look more foolish than it did when he and his conservative pals tossed out the preclearance section of the VRA.
 
Mumbles said:
I'll trust the actual voting rights people there - the ones sounding the alarm bells - over your opinion, Derec.
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It's not about anybody's opinions. It's about the facts.
It is not "Georgia Republicans" but the local county election board which made the determination.
"The Daily Banter" also erred on claiming that the voting locations were "shut down" when in reality it was merely a proposal that was actually defeated. Perhaps Underseer should not use this particular source in the future, but who are we kidding, of course he will!

Regardless, it's worth noting that this isn't even the third time in recent history we've had a republican state outright that suppressing the black vote is very important to them.
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Again. It's the county election board that decided whether to keep those locations open or not.
 
Elections board takes less than a minute to reject proposal to close 7 of 9 polling places in majority-black county.

Critics had said the plan to consolidate polling places in Randolph County, Georgia, was a brazen attempt to suppress the black vote in Georgia's governor race, which pits former Georgia House minority leader Stacey Abrams, who is black, against Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who is white.

The vote came... days after the county terminated its contract with Mike Malone, the consultant who made the recommendation. Malone had argued that closing the polling stations would save the county money, and that some of the sites suggested for closure did not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

It's unclear whether the termination of Malone's contract impacted the vote.
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https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/24/us/randolph-county-polling-closures-vote/index.html
 
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