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Why Do Nonwhite Georgia Voters Have To Wait In Line For Hours? Too Few Polling Places

Rogue Valley

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10/17/20
The clogged polling locations in metro Atlanta reflect an underlying pattern: the number of places to vote has shrunk statewide, with little recourse. Although the reduction in polling places has taken place across racial lines, it has primarily caused long lines in nonwhite neighborhoods where voter registration has surged and more residents cast ballots in person on Election Day. The pruning of polling places started long before the pandemic, which has discouraged people from voting in person. In Georgia, considered a battleground state for control of the White House and U.S. Senate, the difficulty of voting in Black communities like Union City could possibly tip the results on Nov. 3. With massive turnout expected, lines could be even longer than they were for the primary, despite a rise in mail-in voting and Georgians already turning out by the hundreds of thousands to cast ballots early. Since the U.S. Supreme Court's Shelby v. Holder decision in 2013 eliminated key federal oversight of election decisions in states with histories of discrimination, Georgia's voter rolls have grown by nearly 2 million people, yet polling locations have been cut statewide by nearly 10%, according to an analysis of state and local records by and ProPublica. Much of the growth has been fueled by younger, nonwhite voters, especially in nine metro Atlanta counties, where four out of five new voters were nonwhite, according to the Georgia secretary of state's office.

The metro Atlanta area has been hit particularly hard. The nine counties — Fulton, Gwinnett, Forsyth, DeKalb, Cobb, Hall, Cherokee, Henry and Clayton — have nearly half of the state's active voters but only 38% of the polling places, according to the analysis. As a result, the average number of voters packed into each polling location in those counties grew by nearly 40%, from about 2,600 in 2012 to more than 3,600 per polling place as of Oct. 9, the analysis shows. the lines to vote have been longer in Black areas, because Black voters are more likely than whites to cast their ballots in person on Election Day and are more reluctant to vote by mail, according to U.S. census data and recent studies. Republican Brad Raffensperger, who took over as secretary of state in January 2019, has called for more resources and polling places, but he has been unable to push these changes through the GOP-controlled legislature. Georgia's history of voting violations stretches back more than a century, with poll taxes, literacy and citizenship tests, and intimidation that disenfranchised many Black citizens. Since the Shelby decision, the Georgia State Election Board, chaired by Raffensperger, has been the primary body for investigating and potentially sanctioning counties found to have violated election laws and procedures. But the election board has rarely investigated the sort of violations that the U.S. Department of Justice once stepped in to review under the Voting Rights Act.

Almost all of the states that are purging voter rolls, closing voting locations, and aggressively reducing mail-in voting drop-boxes are the states with Republican legislatures.

One huge benefit of flipping the US Senate will be the ability of a Democrat controlled Congress to amend the Voting Rights Act so that none of the federal oversight provisions are unconstitutional.
 



Almost all of the states that are purging voter rolls, closing voting locations, and aggressively reducing mail-in voting drop-boxes are the states with Republican legislatures.

One huge benefit of flipping the US Senate will be the ability of a Democrat controlled Congress to amend the Voting Rights Act so that none of the federal oversight provisions are unconstitutional.
Is waiting in a line a civil rights issue now, too? I have had to wait in line for hours to vote before. It sucks, but I would hardly consider it a form of voter suppression.
 



Almost all of the states that are purging voter rolls, closing voting locations, and aggressively reducing mail-in voting drop-boxes are the states with Republican legislatures.

One huge benefit of flipping the US Senate will be the ability of a Democrat controlled Congress to amend the Voting Rights Act so that none of the federal oversight provisions are unconstitutional.
Name just one thing in Atlanta that you don't have to wait for ?
 
And here we go again with the ridiulous leftist lies. The fact is that the number of polling locations in those cities and counties are defined by DEMOCRATS...the people that control the government in those locations. Same as in Texas. Same as in California.
 
I always find it hillarious that rat party supporters will look at a place like Atlanta and Fulton County, a city that has had exculsive democrat party control in every aspect of their government literally going back to 1887...and shriek and whine about inept government and eeeeevil republicans.
 
Is waiting in a line a civil rights issue now, too? I have had to wait in line for hours to vote before. It sucks, but I would hardly consider it a form of voter suppression.

You're lucky you had hours to spare to devote to voting. People in poorer demographics who are living paycheck to paycheck often don't. This is a voting rights issue that can be solved cheaply by going to mail-in ballots.
 
You're lucky you had hours to spare to devote to voting. People in poorer demographics who are living paycheck to paycheck often don't. This is a voting rights issue that can be solved cheaply by going to mail-in ballots.

I was living paycheck to paycheck, and i was in a poor demographic. It is not a voting rights issue. It is a priorities issue.
 
And here we go again with the ridiulous leftist lies. The fact is that the number of polling locations in those cities and counties are defined by DEMOCRATS...the people that control the government in those locations. Same as in Texas. Same as in California.

Easy to debunk bullshit is easy to debunk.

 
I was living paycheck to paycheck, and i was in a poor demographic. It is not a voting rights issue. It is a priorities issue.

Then you were lucky to not have to put your job at risk to vote. Because it was a priorities issue to you does not mean it is not a voting rights issue for others.
 
Then you were lucky to not have to put your job at risk to vote. Because it was a priorities issue to you does not mean it is not a voting rights issue for others.

Who does not have the right to vote in this election that is supposed to?
 
:ROFLMAO:
is it your contention there are long lines at drop boxes?

Its pathetic that you feel the need to lie to try to fabricate an argument.
Just debunking your lie that the local politicians control all of the electoral process. And debunking it with much ease. You're going to have to refine the process in which you forward your bullshit lies Vance.
 



Almost all of the states that are purging voter rolls, closing voting locations, and aggressively reducing mail-in voting drop-boxes are the states with Republican legislatures.

One huge benefit of flipping the US Senate will be the ability of a Democrat controlled Congress to amend the Voting Rights Act so that none of the federal oversight provisions are unconstitutional.

Hate to burst your bubble, but if there is a long line for blacks, there is a long line for whites.
 
Who does not have the right to vote in this election that is supposed to?

No one who is supposed to have the right to vote doesn't in fact have that right. Some just don't have the ability, and most of this group are in poorer minority demographics. It is the duty of the government to reasonably remove barriers to voting, not multiply them. Mail in voting is a reasonable way to remove barriers to voting.
 



Almost all of the states that are purging voter rolls, closing voting locations, and aggressively reducing mail-in voting drop-boxes are the states with Republican legislatures.

One huge benefit of flipping the US Senate will be the ability of a Democrat controlled Congress to amend the Voting Rights Act so that none of the federal oversight provisions are unconstitutional.


Wasn't it Biden himself encouraging early voting?

This is what happens?
 
Is waiting in a line a civil rights issue now, too? I have had to wait in line for hours to vote before. It sucks, but I would hardly consider it a form of voter suppression.
Of course it is voter suppression. 30 minutes to an hour in line....no. But missing out on work or ignoring family responsibilities, yes.

Some of the lines are 6 to 8 hours long. Also, with covid exposure possible, it can become a health issue.
 
No one who is supposed to have the right to vote doesn't in fact have that right. Some just don't have the ability, and most of this group are in poorer minority demographics. It is the duty of the government to reasonably remove barriers to voting, not multiply them. Mail in voting is a reasonable way to remove barriers to voting.

So, it is not a voting rights issue. It is a voting ease issue.
 
Of course it is voter suppression. 30 minutes to an hour in line....no. But missing out on work or ignoring family responsibilities, yes.

Some of the lines are 6 to 8 hours long. Also, with covid exposure possible, it can become a health issue.

I have had to miss work for all kinds of things, like going to a doctor's appointment. I even have to wait significant amounts of time to do so. Is that healthcare suppression? That is a right too, according to the left.
 
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