Current Events > A county in Georgia wants to close 7 of 9 polling places before November

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2018/08/18/georgia-voting- rights-activists-move-to-block-a- plan-to-close-two-thirds-of-polling-places-in-one-county
(remove the spaces, one after voting- and one after block-a-)

Voting rights activists in Georgia say they will launch a petition drive in an effort to collect enough signatures of registered voters to block a proposal to close more than two-thirds of polling precincts in a predominantly black county ahead of this falls general election.

The plan to shutter the voting sites in Randolph County, a rural community about 2 hours south of Atlanta, has drawn dozens of local residents and progressive groups to two public hearings in recent days. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a formal protest with the countys board of elections.

Brian Kemp, Georgias secretary of state, which oversees elections operations throughout the state, has issued a statement urging Randolph County officials to abandon this effort. Kemp also is the Republican nominee in one of the countrys most-watched gubernatorial contests. The Democratic nominee, Stacey Abrams, a former state legislator, is seeking to become the nations first black female governor.

The two-member county election board a third member stepped down recently has scheduled a vote for Friday on the proposal to shutter seven of the countys nine polling places, citing problems including facilities in disrepair or inaccessible to people with disabilities. But some activists are suspicious of the boards motives, noting that Randolph County is more than 55 percent black and many residents have low incomes. The county, which covers 431 square miles, has no public transportation system.

All nine of the polling places were used for the May primaries and less than a month ago for statewide runoffs, in which Kemp, helped by an endorsement from President Trump, beat Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle for the GOP nomination.

Gotta love the smell of voter suppression in the morning
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Is this the same Georgia that had one county have 250% voter turnout in the recent primary?
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"When you can't win fairly, just cheat." - The Republican Motto
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Come on, Republicans, tell me why this is a good thing.
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Were_Wyrm posted...

Is this the same Georgia that had one county have 250% voter turnout in the recent primary?

Uh... Source?
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"the gop isnt racist"

"What do black people have to lose by voting Republican?"
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tremain07 posted...

"What do black people have to lose by voting Republican?"

"vote for us unless you want your votes suppressed "

"btw dems are the real racists. party of lincoln"

*waves Confederate flag*

Republicans have turned voter suppression at the state level into an art form.
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Were_Wyrm posted...

Is this the same Georgia that had one county have 250% voter turnout in the recent primary?

250% turnout, or 250% increase in turnout? Also source, I can't find anything supporting your statement
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Frankly, I'm surprised that Randolph county has that many polling places. If they followed a similar population ratio for polling places as the metro counties, they would have 1 location...

Rockdale is closing two polling places in the poorer section of the county and nobody is talking about it. They're also moving 10 other polling places, also in the poorer parts of the county. The two that aren't being moved are the ones that all the government officials use... But this is affecting about 12 times as many people as the entire population of Randolph county, and isn't being talked about at all on a national level... Maybe because the voters being suppressed are poor white Republicans in a blue county?

https://www.rockdalenewtoncitizen.com/news/local/rockdale-changing-some-voting-precinct-locations/article_037a8b97-df6a-5bde-ae1f-ea988621d52e.html

But I think it is more likely that both counties are actually making the changes due to the stated reasons. Randolph because they can't afford to repair and update the facilities to meet ADA requirements, Rockdale to make the schools safer.
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Pogo_Marimo posted...

Uh... Source?

Darkman124 posted...

250% turnout, or 250% increase in turnout? Also source, I can't find anything supporting your statement

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/08/georgia-defends-voting-system-despite-243-percent-turnout-in-one-precinct/

There was a topic about it right after it happened.
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Were_Wyrm posted...

Pogo_Marimo posted...

Uh... Source?

Darkman124 posted...

250% turnout, or 250% increase in turnout? Also source, I can't find anything supporting your statement

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/08/georgia-defends-voting-system-despite-243-percent-turnout-in-one-precinct/

There was a topic about it right after it happened.

McClatchy's data comes from a federal lawsuit filed against the state. In addition to the problem in Habersham County's Mud Creek precinct, where it appeared that 276 registered voters managed to cast 670 ballots, the piece describes numerous other issues with both voter registration and electronic voting machines. (In fact it was later corrected to show 3,704 registered voters in the precinct.)

So 3704 registered voters and 670 ballots? Is that what I'm reading?
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https://newsradio1290wtks.iheart.com/featured/laura-anderson/content/2018-08-08-voter-fraud-in-georgia-falsely-reported/

Looks like the report of there only being 276 registered voters in that precinct was incorrect.

The allegation that there were 670 ballots in a precinct with 276 voters is incorrect.There were 670 Republican ballots cast out of 3,941 registered voters in the Mud Creek precinct in Habersham County on May 22, according to state data.
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QassTank posted...

Frankly, I'm surprised that Randolph county has that many polling places. If they followed a similar population ratio for polling places as the metro counties, they would have 1 location...

Rockdale is closing two polling places in the poorer section of the county and nobody is talking about it. They're also moving 10 other polling places, also in the poorer parts of the county. The two that aren't being moved are the ones that all the government officials use... But this is affecting about 12 times as many people as the entire population of Randolph county, and isn't being talked about at all on a national level... Maybe because the voters being suppressed are poor white Republicans in a blue county?

https://www.rockdalenewtoncitizen.com/news/local/rockdale-changing-some-voting-precinct-locations/article_037a8b97-df6a-5bde-ae1f-ea988621d52e.html

But I think it is more likely that both counties are actually making the changes due to the stated reasons. Randolph because they can't afford to repair and update the facilities to meet ADA requirements, Rockdale to make the schools safer.

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good ol Southwest GA, probably the most ass backwards and racialist sub section of our state.
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You liberals are so racist. You don't think black people are capable of taking public transportation 25 miles away in the middle of a workday to vote?
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QassTank posted...

Frankly, I'm surprised that Randolph county has that many polling places. If they followed a similar population ratio for polling places as the metro counties, they would have 1 location...

Rockdale is closing two polling places in the poorer section of the county and nobody is talking about it. They're also moving 10 other polling places, also in the poorer parts of the county. The two that aren't being moved are the ones that all the government officials use... But this is affecting about 12 times as many people as the entire population of Randolph county, and isn't being talked about at all on a national level... Maybe because the voters being suppressed are poor white Republicans in a blue county?

https://www.rockdalenewtoncitizen.com/news/local/rockdale-changing-some-voting-precinct-locations/article_037a8b97-df6a-5bde-ae1f-ea988621d52e.html

But I think it is more likely that both counties are actually making the changes due to the stated reasons. Randolph because they can't afford to repair and update the facilities to meet ADA requirements, Rockdale to make the schools safer.

these places are moving about 2-3 miles down the road at most, rural counties have several precincts because for sizable chunks of the population you would have to easily drive 30 plus minutes to reach the central portion of the county where the seat is, not sure that is a very good comparison.
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coolboy11 posted...

QassTank posted...

Frankly, I'm surprised that Randolph county has that many polling places. If they followed a similar population ratio for polling places as the metro counties, they would have 1 location...

Rockdale is closing two polling places in the poorer section of the county and nobody is talking about it. They're also moving 10 other polling places, also in the poorer parts of the county. The two that aren't being moved are the ones that all the government officials use... But this is affecting about 12 times as many people as the entire population of Randolph county, and isn't being talked about at all on a national level... Maybe because the voters being suppressed are poor white Republicans in a blue county?

https://www.rockdalenewtoncitizen.com/news/local/rockdale-changing-some-voting-precinct-locations/article_037a8b97-df6a-5bde-ae1f-ea988621d52e.html

But I think it is more likely that both counties are actually making the changes due to the stated reasons. Randolph because they can't afford to repair and update the facilities to meet ADA requirements, Rockdale to make the schools safer.

these places are moving about 2-3 miles down the road at most, rural counties have several precincts because for sizable chunks of the population you would have to easily drive 30 plus minutes to reach the central portion of the county where the seat is, not sure that is a very good comparison.

He doesn't care. He is going to keep spamming that

coolboy11 posted...

these places are moving about 2-3 miles down the road at most, rural counties have several precincts because for sizable chunks of the population you would have to easily drive 30 plus minutes to reach the central portion of the county where the seat is, not sure that is a very good comparison.

I understand that. But you're also forgetting that in more urban areas, people tend to not have cars while in more rural areas they are more likely to. So that 2-3 miles is an extra 30-45 minutes of walking one way in a county with no public transportation. Of course for the people whose precincts closed, you're adding an hour and a half of walking one way in the part of the county where very few people own cars.

Either way it could be considered voter suppression, which is bad. My points are that A) National media only cares about voter suppression against minorities because it fits a narrative even while ignoring greater absolute numbers of suppressed voters because they are white, and B) Sometimes it isn't even an attempt at voter suppression, but that things happen for the reasons stated...
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QassTank posted...

But you're also forgetting that in more urban areas, people tend to not have cars while in

wtf are you talking about

Alphamon posted...

QassTank posted...

But you're also forgetting that in more urban areas, people tend to not have cars while in

wtf are you talking about

In urban areas, public transit and general proximity make it easier to get by without a car.
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QassTank posted...

In urban areas, public transit and general proximity make it easier to get by without a car.

Yeah, but let's not pretend public transit is efficient in many areas. Back when I was working at my 1st job, it took me 6 hours to get to the bank and back home by the city bus.
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CableZL posted...

QassTank posted...

In urban areas, public transit and general proximity make it easier to get by without a car.

Yeah, but let's not pretend public transit is efficient in many areas. Back when I was working at my 1st job, it took me 6 hours to get to the bank and back home by the city bus.

Oh I know that Atlanta's public transit is shitty. Trust me, I used MARTA extensively while in college... 2 hours to go 20 miles... But it was still faster than walking...
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CableZL posted...

QassTank posted...

In urban areas, public transit and general proximity make it easier to get by without a car.

Yeah, but let's not pretend public transit is efficient in many areas. Back when I was working at my 1st job, it took me 6 hours to get to the bank and back home by the city bus.

That's why literally everyone in rural areas own at least one car
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QassTank posted...

Alphamon posted...

QassTank posted...

But you're also forgetting that in more urban areas, people tend to not have cars while in

wtf are you talking about

In urban areas, public transit and general proximity make it easier to get by without a car.

no, unless you are living in a huge city, most Americans own cars regardless. proof most of these people dont own cars?

QassTank posted...

CableZL posted...

QassTank posted...

In urban areas, public transit and general proximity make it easier to get by without a car.

Yeah, but let's not pretend public transit is efficient in many areas. Back when I was working at my 1st job, it took me 6 hours to get to the bank and back home by the city bus.

Oh I know that Atlanta's public transit is shitty. Trust me, I used MARTA extensively while in college... 2 hours to go 20 miles... But it was still faster than walking...

Actually, according to Google Maps, it would have taken about 5 hours to get there and back if I had just walked.

God damn it, lol
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I wonder what Jeri Ryan has to say about this
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Were_Wyrm posted...

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/08/georgia-defends-voting-system-despite-243-percent-turnout-in-one-precinct/

There was a topic about it right after it happened.

CableZL posted...

https://newsradio1290wtks.iheart.com/featured/laura-anderson/content/2018-08-08-voter-fraud-in-georgia-falsely-reported/

Looks like the report of there only being 276 registered voters in that precinct was incorrect.

The allegation that there were 670 ballots in a precinct with 276 voters is incorrect.There were 670 Republican ballots cast out of 3,941 registered voters in the Mud Creek precinct in Habersham County on May 22, according to state data.

So, in short, the information Were_Wyrm posted was debunked. Glad to have this cleared up, thanks Cable.
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Phantom_Nook posted...

Come on, Republicans, tell me why this is a good thing.

It's to keep illegals and other undesirables from voting.
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Alphamon posted...

QassTank posted...

Alphamon posted...

QassTank posted...

But you're also forgetting that in more urban areas, people tend to not have cars while in

wtf are you talking about

In urban areas, public transit and general proximity make it easier to get by without a car.

no, unless you are living in a huge city, most Americans own cars regardless. proof most of these people dont own cars?

I mean, most of my employees when I worked at our location in Rockdale didn't own cars, and they live in one of the areas affected by one of the closed precincts...

But also I live in Rockdale... I personally own a car, and that is fairly normal for my area of the county, but fairly uncommon for the rest of the county. Most people there go without ever leaving Rockdale and walk everywhere...
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creativerealms posted...

Phantom_Nook posted...

Come on, Republicans, tell me why this is a good thing.

It's to keep illegals and other undesirables from voting.

Gotcha. *wink*
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creativerealms posted...

Phantom_Nook posted...

Come on, Republicans, tell me why this is a good thing.

It's to keep illegals and other undesirables from voting.

Like the Republicans in Rockdale... <_< Yeah, intentional voter suppression of legal voters is never a good thing. It needs to be called out in every case. That being said, I'm not even sure that the two cases brought up ITT, one by me, even are voter suppression. Both had reasons given that are not only plausible, but important and necessary to take into account.
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QassTank posted...

Like the Republicans in Rockdale... <_< Yeah, intentional voter suppression of legal voters is never a good thing. It needs to be called out in every case. That being said, I'm not even sure that the two cases brought up ITT, one by me, even are voter suppression. Both had reasons given that are not only plausible, but important and necessary to take into account.

I would question why they're important and necessary to take into account now, but weren't that important about a month ago when the polling places were used for voting.
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QassTank posted...

Alphamon posted...

QassTank posted...

Alphamon posted...

QassTank posted...

But you're also forgetting that in more urban areas, people tend to not have cars while in

wtf are you talking about

In urban areas, public transit and general proximity make it easier to get by without a car.

no, unless you are living in a huge city, most Americans own cars regardless. proof most of these people dont own cars?

I mean, most of my employees when I worked at our location in Rockdale didn't own cars, and they live in one of the areas affected by one of the closed precincts...

But also I live in Rockdale... I personally own a car, and that is fairly normal for my area of the county, but fairly uncommon for the rest of the county. Most people there go without ever leaving Rockdale and walk everywhere...

Considering your post history I think its safe to conclude that you might just be making shit up.

White Americans have like a 90+ percent car ownership rate.

CableZL posted...

QassTank posted...

Like the Republicans in Rockdale... <_< Yeah, intentional voter suppression of legal voters is never a good thing. It needs to be called out in every case. That being said, I'm not even sure that the two cases brought up ITT, one by me, even are voter suppression. Both had reasons given that are not only plausible, but important and necessary to take into account.

I would question why they're important and necessary to take into account now, but weren't that important about a month ago when the polling places were used for voting.

When have you ever known government to move quickly?

The Rockdale stuff started in March, at least that is when the first town hall I was told about regarding the issue was... It was finalized about a month ago.

From the looks of it, this Randolph County stuff started on Friday the 17th, but hasn't been finalized and several people in the State government are opposed to it, including the Secretary of State, who has some interest in voter turnout due to his campaign for the governor seat...
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QassTank posted...

When have you ever known government to move quickly?

When they're trying to close polling locations.
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DarkChozoGhost posted...

You liberals are so racist. You don't think black people are capable of taking public transportation 25 miles away in the middle of a workday to vote?

Public transportation in rural nowhere?

asstanks economic anxiety is acting up again
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Doom_Art posted...

"When you can't win fairly, just cheat." - The Republican Motto

Tell that to the DNC. Bernie should have been the democrats choice for president because the people liked him more than Hillary.

Besides, trump didnt cheat. What did he do? Are you still convinced that Vladimir Putins hacked the polls? The dems were caught registering deceased people and illegal immigrants.
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Phantom_Nook posted...

Come on, Republicans, tell me why this is a good thing.

Because it prevents more minorities from voting and allows for stronger surveillance of them from entering.
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southcoast09 posted...

Doom_Art posted...

"When you can't win fairly, just cheat." - The Republican Motto

hilaREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

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southcoast09 posted...

but Hillary

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southcoast09 posted...

Tell that to the DNC. Bernie should have been the democrats choice for president because the people liked him more than Hillary.

Bingo