Current Events > Georgia GOP pushes to eliminate Sunday voting, reduce poll hours in Atlanta

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https://thinkprogress.org/georgia-sunday-voting-cut-9c1c2ffafd18/

Georgia Republicans are advancing a bill through the state legislature that would suppress African-American turnout by eliminating Sunday voting and cutting the hours that polls are open in Atlanta.

The bill, SB 363, would force polls in the majority African American city of Atlanta to close an hour earlier 7 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. and would eliminate early voting on the Sunday before Election Day. That Sunday is often a high-turnout day for African American voters because of Souls to the Polls events that encourage people to cast ballots early after attending church.

The proposal passed the state House Governmental Affairs Committee Wednesday with the majority Republicans voting in favor and all five Democrats, who have said the legislation is designed to suppress voter turnout, in opposition.

The text of the bill limits voting to just one weekend day before an election, but under current state law, any election with state or federal candidates must allow voting on a Saturday, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Georgia Republicans have opposed Sunday voting since at least 2014, when DeKalb County (home to Atlanta) extended early voting to include the Sunday before Election Day. One polling location that year was at a popular local shopping mall.

This location is dominated by African-American shoppers and it is near several large African-American mega churches such as New Birth Missionary Baptist, state Sen. Fran Millar (R) wrote candidly at the time, denigrating the relative ease of voting on Sundays as Chicago politics in DeKalb County. Is it possible church buses will be used to transport people directly to the mall since the poll will open when the mall opens? If this happens, so much for the accepted principle of separation of church and state.

After pushback, Millar didnt back away from his comments, instead writing on his Facebook page that Sunday voting is a partisan stunt and I hope it can be stopped.

But it wasnt until this year, after the GOP lost a special election in Atlanta, that the party decided to take action to limit Sunday voting and by extension, African-American turnout. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, State Sen. Matt Brass (R) filed the bill after Sen. Jen Jordan (D) won a special election in a district that covers both Atlanta and Cobb County. Republicans claimed it was unfair that some voters had an hour longer to vote than others. Under a current state law passed in the 1970s, Atlanta is required to keep its polls open until 8 p.m. for city elections.

But instead of attempting to extend voting hours in counties that close at 7 p.m., GOP lawmakers decided to target Atlanta.

One person should not be allowed to vote one hour longer than another person, Brass said.

The House Governmental Affairs Committee added the provision to eliminate Sunday voting to the same bill after it passed the Senate last month. State Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D), one of five Democrats on the committee, called the bill anti-voting rights.

If this legislation does pass and Republicans continue to be overt about their intention to suppress black voters, the bill would violate the U.S. Constitution. Democrats and voting advocates are also likely to raise objections under the Voting Rights Act, although the U.S. Supreme Court significantly weakened the power of that landmark legislation in 2013 when it ruled that states and jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination, like Georgia, no longer need to preclear changes to their voting law with the Department of Justice.

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Oh look, Republicans trying to suppress voter turnout.

is there any benefit to this or
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halomonkey1_3_5 posted...

is there any benefit to this or

yeah, less black people will vote.
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so what's the GOP saying the reason is? i couldn't find their excuse in there, maybe i missed it?
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Wow they even flat out admit in the article it's because of it being a black area

Usually they try to hide that shit

Pretty blatant this go around
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Giant_Aspirin posted...

so what's the GOP saying the reason is? i couldn't find their excuse in there, maybe i missed it?

The usual GOP reasons. Budget cuts and taxpayer money
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Giant_Aspirin posted...

so what's the GOP saying the reason is? i couldn't find their excuse in there, maybe i missed it?

They said it was unfair that Atlanta allows polling until 8, so they cut an hour there rather than extends hours elsewhere, as the Democrats proposed. You know, because voting is too convenient in America.
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hockeybub89 posted...

Giant_Aspirin posted...

so what's the GOP saying the reason is? i couldn't find their excuse in there, maybe i missed it?

They said it was unfair that Atlanta allows polling until 8, so they cut an hour there rather than extends hours elsewhere, as the Democrats proposed. You know, because voting is too convenient in America.

yeah more people voting is obviously a bad thing
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Giant_Aspirin posted...

hockeybub89 posted...

Giant_Aspirin posted...

so what's the GOP saying the reason is? i couldn't find their excuse in there, maybe i missed it?

They said it was unfair that Atlanta allows polling until 8, so they cut an hour there rather than extends hours elsewhere, as the Democrats proposed. You know, because voting is too convenient in America.

yeah more people voting is obviously a bad thing

It is for the GOP
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Is ANYTHING more RACIST than the GOP?
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GOP gonna GOP

I get more ashamed of my past self being a registered Republican every day tbh.
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Pretty blatant attempt to suppress the vote of melanated folks.
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DezDroppedFreak posted...

Giant_Aspirin posted...

hockeybub89 posted...

Giant_Aspirin posted...

so what's the GOP saying the reason is? i couldn't find their excuse in there, maybe i missed it?

They said it was unfair that Atlanta allows polling until 8, so they cut an hour there rather than extends hours elsewhere, as the Democrats proposed. You know, because voting is too convenient in America.

yeah more people voting is obviously a bad thing

It is for the GOP

i was trying to be funny ._.
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Typical voter suppression.
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I thought Republican was the party of the working class, yet pass laws that make voting for the working class harder...
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Antifar posted...

Is it possible church buses will be used to transport people directly to the mall since the poll will open when the mall opens? If this happens, so much for the accepted principle of separation of church and state.

Said the member of the Republican party lol
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pegusus123456 posted...

Antifar posted...

Is it possible church buses will be used to transport people directly to the mall since the poll will open when the mall opens? If this happens, so much for the accepted principle of separation of church and state.

Said the member of the Republican party lol

WTF does church buses transporting people to polling stations have to do with seperation of church and state anyway?

Seperation of church and state doesn't mean religious people can't vote
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