County’s Decision in Response to Demand Letter Issued by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Advocacy by Georgia Organizations
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, the Jeff Davis County Board of Elections and Registrars voted to re-open a polling place in the county’s majority-minority voting precinct. The Board’s reversal is in response to a joint grassroots and advocacy campaign led by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and several organizations in Georgia, where hundreds of polling places have been closed since the Supreme Court struck down part of the Voting Rights Act five years ago, and a majority-minority county received national notoriety for attempting to close almost all of its polling place in advance of Georgia’s historic November 2018 election.
“This is a victory for African American voters across Georgia who are too often subject to a relentless campaign of voter suppression,” said John Powers, Counsel in the Voting Rights Project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “This reversal shows the power of resistance and the impact that we can have by leveraging our voices against injustice. We are pleased that the Board has seen fit to bow both to needs of the electorate and the dictates of the law and reject this poorly conceived polling place consolidation. The right to vote is the most sacred civil right in our democracy and we stand fully prepared to defend that right.”
In May, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law sent a pre-suit demand letter to the Jeff Davis County Board of Elections and Registrars objecting to the consolidation of the majority-minority Hazlehurst Precinct and urging the Board to reverse its decision immediately. The demand letter was issued by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law on behalf of the New Georgia Project and the Georgia Coalition for the Peoples’ Agenda. Following the release of the letter, the New Georgia Project and the Georgia Coalition for the Peoples’ Agenda led a petition drive, signed by numerous Hazlehurst Precinct electors, formally objecting to the consolidation. The Georgia State Conference of the NAACP organized turnout by affected voters at Jeff Davis County Board meetings and worked with other Georgia organizations to coordinate outreach with local and state election officials. The local Community League, led by Glen Davis, worked with the Jeff Davis County Board of Commissioners and organized grassroots efforts in Hazlehurst in support of the reversal.
“This decision is a tribute to the minority voters of Jeff Davis County,” said Helen Butler, executive director of the Georgia Coalition for the Peoples’ Agenda. “They have spoken out loudly against the consolidation, and we applaud the Board of Elections for heeding their call to abandon it. It makes no sense to risk disenfranchising voters in the 2020 elections.”
“Yesterday’s decision in Jeff Davis County is a victory for all Georgians,” said Nse Ufot, Executive Director of the New Georgia Project. “There’s no way to sugar coat it: closing a majority-minority polling place in a county where they have already consolidated voting precincts and caused massive confusion among voters before a very big election is a troubling and transparent attack on Black voters and our fundamental freedom to vote. This vote is a true testament to the work of the people– we will not stand for voter suppression and every time we see it, we are prepared to speak out and stop it in its tracks.”
“We applaud the Board of Elections for making a decision that makes voting more accessible,” said Phyllis Blake, president of the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP. “As we approach the 2020 elections, the focus should be on improving access to the ballot for Georgia voters, not on closing polling places and placing unnecessary burdens on voters.”
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law has a long history of fighting voter suppression in Georgia including an attempt to relocate a polling site to a hostile location in Macon-Bibb County, the proposed polling place consolidation in Randolph County, a purge program in Hancock County, a discriminatory exact-match policy maintained by the Georgia Secretary of State, and more.
If prospective voters have any questions about the location of their polling place in Georgia or elsewhere, they may call the national, nonpartisan Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE to receive assistance.
A copy of the demand letter is available here
About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee), 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 is continuing its quest to “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 voting rights, criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and hate crimes. For more information, please visit https://lawyerscommitee.org.
Contact:
Stanley Augustin │ press@lawyerscommittee.org │ 202-662-8327
