Southern U.S. states have closed 1,200 polling places in recent years: rights group

[Judi Lynn]

SEPTEMBER 9, 2019 / 11:08 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO

Andy Sullivan
4 MIN READ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - States across the American South have closed nearly 1,200 polling places since the Supreme Court weakened a landmark voting-discrimination law in 2013, according to a report released by a civil-rights group on Tuesday.

The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights found that states with a history of racial discrimination have shuttered hundreds of voting locations since the court ruled that they did not need federal approval to change their laws. The report did not have comparisons with polling places in other regions.

The report comes as Republican-led states impose a range of other restrictions, from shorter voting hours to photo-ID requirements. As turnout has surged in recent elections, voters in cities like Phoenix and Atlanta have endured hours-long waits to cast their ballots.

Seven counties in Georgia now only have one polling place, the report found.

More:
https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-election-locations/southern-u-s-states-have-closed-1200-polling-places-in-recent-years-rights-group-idINKCN1VV098?rpc=401&

[brer cat]

1. Disenfranchising Democratic-leaning voters

is a republican specialty. And they do it gleefully.

[dalton99a]

2. Thanks to the GOP Supreme Court

Under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, areas with a history of voting discrimination - such as requiring African American or Hispanic voters to pay a poll tax or pass a literacy test - had to first convince the U.S. Justice Department or a federal court that any election changes they wished to make would not have had a discriminatory effect. The Supreme Court struck down that portion of the law in 2013.

Election officials in Texas have closed more than 1 in 10 voting locations statewide, according to data collected by the Leadership Conference, with the biggest drops in the counties surrounding Dallas and Austin, which have large Hispanic and African American populations.

In Arizona, more than 1 in 5 polling locations were closed, the data showed.

Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi closed roughly 1 in 20 polling locations, while the declines were less dramatic in Alabama, Alaska and North Carolina.

[SCantiGOP]

3. volunteer next election

every year there are people who don't vote because they have no way to get to the polls. Call your local Dem party HQ and volunteer to drive people to the polls. Its fun and a great way to know that you are responsible for more than your just your one vote to get the thugs and trump out of office.