2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumA growing conflict over voting rights is playing out in Georgia, where the presidential race is ti
Very good article I think.
A growing conflict over voting rights is playing out in Georgia, where the presidential race is tightening
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/growing-conflict-over-voting-rights-in-georgia-where-the-presidential-race-is-tightening/2016/10/24/2e9d2caa-84e6-11e6-a3ef-f35afb41797f_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_gavoting-219pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
Voters line up on Oct. 20 in Sandy Springs, Ga. Early voting in the state runs through Nov. 4. (John Bazemore/AP)
By Vanessa Williams October 24 at 12:25 PM
A growing conflict over voting rights and ballot access is playing out in Georgia, where civil rights activists are trading accusations with Republican elected officials and where the stakes have risen considerably with the states new status as a closely watched battleground.
Activists said this month that as many as 100,000 Georgia voter-registration applications have not been processed. One of the states largest counties offered only one early-voting site, prompting hours-long waits for many people at the polls last week. And the states top election official has refused to extend voter-registration deadlines in counties hardest hit by Hurricane Matthew.
These developments have prompted harsh criticism from voting rights activists. Last week, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit to extend registration for six counties affected by the hurricane. Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who oversees elections, responded by taking to Twitter to rail against left-wing activists, whom he accused of trying to disrupt the election.
[Why Georgia is a key state in the presidential race]
Fresh polls in the Peach State show a tightening presidential race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, who has complained that the election is rigged against him nationwide. But voting rights advocates in Georgia say Republican state and local election officials are undermining the fairness of the vote by passing laws and adopting procedures that deter minorities and young people, groups that typically vote Democratic.
Can minorities turn a red state blue?
Play Video3:47
The clashes in Georgia echo battles in recent months, some still ongoing, in other states across the country, including North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio.
Georgia is ground zero, if you will, when it comes to voter suppression and voting discrimination that were seeing this election season, said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.............
Cha
(295,907 posts)gets their VOTE counted, rivers.. thank you!
mdbl
(4,972 posts)The whole system here is still run by the good ole' boys. They aint lettin no riff raff vote.
BumRushDaShow
(127,305 posts)You would think this would make a difference if they would just vote or at least not be kept from voting.