Despite abandoning plans to close all but two of nine polling sites in 2018 in the wake of local and national backlash, voting rights advocates condemn the decision of Randolph County election officials to renew consideration of polling site closures in this majority-Black county ahead of what is predicted to be historic voter turnout during the 2020 election cycle
Washington, D.C. – Today, the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda, Georgia NAACP, New Georgia Project, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law sent a demand letter to Randolph County officials condemning the county’s revived consideration of plans to close polling places in this majority-Black county and urged the county to abandon these efforts ahead of what is expected to be voter turnout of historic proportions during the 2020 election cycle.
Randolph County abandoned plans to close all but two of the county’s polling sites in advance of the 2018 midterm elections in the wake of local and national backlash because of the negative impact the plans would have had on the county’s voters, particularly voters of color residing in the county’s low-income and minority communities. Facing intense pressure from Randolph county voters and advocacy groups, Randolph County officials voted down the 2018 plan and fired the consultant who proposed it.
Shockingly, Randolph county elections officials recently revived consideration of plans to close polling sites at the April 17, 2019 Randolph County Board of Commissioners meeting. Despite the fact that the 2018 election saw near-record turnout across the nation, including in Randolph County, and election experts predict the 2020 election could see the highest turnout in nearly a century, Randolph County officials are prioritizing closing polling sites that will make it harder for its citizens to vote, instead of finding ways to make voting more accessible for their constituents.
“Randolph County’s consideration of closing polling sites ahead of what will likely be a hotly-contested 2020 presidential election cycle with historic voter turnout smacks of racially motivated voter suppression,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “These closures in a majority-Black county have an outsized effect on low-income and minority communities, especially those without the means to travel long distances to exercise their fundamental right to vote. We will use every means at our disposal to fight voter these voter suppression tactics if Randolph County officials move forward with plans to close polling sites ahead of the 2020 election cycle.”
“I am frankly shocked that Randolph County would revive consideration of polling site closures in the aftermath of the negative reception the county’s polling site closure plans received in 2018,” said Helen Butler, Executive Director of the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda. Ms. Butler added, “to consider reviving these plans when Randolph County’s voters made it loud and clear to the Board of Elections in 2018 that they opposed closing polling sites, evidences a deliberate disregard for the needs of the county’s voters, particularly the voters of color, whom they serve.”
Phyllis Blake, President of the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP expressed her strong opposition to Randolph County’s decision to revisit plans to close down polling sites, stating: “Why would Randolph County election officials decide to raise the issue of closing polling sites less than a year after facing a huge public backlash when they proposed plans to close polling places in 2018? Efforts to suppress the vote of people of color in Randolph County will not go unnoticed. We demand to know why the county’s election officials are revising consideration of polling site closures when voters in the county have already clearly said this is not something they need or want.”
Nse Ufot, Executive Director of the New Georgia Project, also condemned the Randolph County’s plan to revisit the closure of polling sites ahead of the 2020 election cycle. Ms. Ufot noted, “Randolph County officials seemingly learned nothing from the days of hearings in 2018 in which the county’s voters and voting rights advocates voiced opposition to plans to close polling sites. Instead of working to make it harder for Randolph County voters to cast ballots, county officials should be working hard to ensure that every voter in the county who wants to cast a ballot is able to do so without putting arbitrary and unnecessary barriers in their way to the ballot box.”
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About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. Now in its 55th year, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is continuing its quest “Move America Toward Justice.” The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and voting rights. For more information, please visit https://live-lawyers-committee-2020.pantheonsite.io
Contact
Reynolds Graves, Lawyers’ Committee, RGraves@LawyersCommittee.org, 202-662-8375
