FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 5, 2021
Media contact: Ana Maria Rosato [email protected]
Who
Rahul Garabadu, ACLU of Georgia Voting Rights Staff Attorney, to testify
What
Quitman County Board of Registrars meeting
Where
Quitman County Probate Court
115 Main Street
Georgetown, GA 39854
When
May 6, 2021, at 5:00 p.m.
Quote
“We urge the Quitman County Board of Registrars to table this proposal to close the Morris polling location,” Rahul Garabadu, ACLU of Georgia Voting Rights Staff Attorney.
From Mr. Garabadu’s testimony
This Quitman County Board of Registrars’ proposal to close Morris polling location is wrong for three reasons.
1. Shutting down the precinct would burden Morris residents who don’t have access to a car. Citizens who want to vote in person would face an unacceptable choice: walk four hours to vote or don’t vote at all.
2. Accessibility concerns that the Board has raised regarding Morris precinct can easily be fixed without shutting down the precinct.
3. The Board’s concerns about its ability to pay three poll workers can also be addressed easily. The ACLU of Georgia stands ready to assist the County in finding three volunteers to serve as poll workers on Election Day, including from neighboring Randolph County, where the ACLU of Georgia has built relationships.
Background
On April 27, 2021, the ACLU of Georgia sent a letter to the Quitman County Board of Registrars warning that its proposal to close half of its polling places will likely harm Black voters potentially violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution.
Eliminating a polling location that serves the eastern half of the county will prevent rural voters living around Morris without transportation from voting in-person on Election Day. Morris is approximately 13 miles away from Georgetown, where the last remaining polling location in the county would be located. It would take over four hours to walk from Morris to Georgetown. Because Quitman County has little to no public transportation options, a voter who wants to vote in person but does not have a car would face significant, and potentially insurmountable, hurdles to exercising their right to vote.
These transportation burdens would also fall more heavily on Black voters. A plurality of Quitman County residents, who are disproportionately Black, have either no car or only one car per household.
DOCUMENTS
Prepared remarks, Rahul Garabadu, ACLU of Georgia Voting Rights Attorney
ACLU of Georgia Letter to Quitman County Board of Elections Regarding Poll Closure
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