Georgia Republicans purge Black Democrats from county election boards

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Reuters

December 9, 2021
7:12 AM EST
Last Updated 3 hours ago

United States

Georgia Republicans purge Black Democrats from county election boards

By James Oliphant and Nathan Layne

GRIFFIN, Georgia, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Protesters filled the meeting room of the Spalding County Board of Elections in October, upset that the board had disallowed early voting on Sundays for the Nov. 2 municipal election. A year ago, Sunday voting had been instrumental in boosting turnout of Black voters.

But this was an entirely different five-member board than had overseen the last election. The Democratic majority of three Black women was gone. So was the Black elections supervisor.

Now a faction of three white Republicans controlled the board – thanks to a bill passed by the Republican-led Georgia legislature earlier this year. The Spalding board’s new chairman has endorsed former president Donald Trump’s false stolen-election claims on social media.

The panel in Spalding, a rural patch south of Atlanta, is one of six county boards that Republicans have quietly reorganized in recent months through similar county-specific state legislation. The changes expanded the party’s power over choosing members of local election boards ahead of the crucial midterm Congressional elections in November 2022.

{snip}

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/georgia-republicans-purge-black-democrats-county-election-boards-2021-12-09/

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David Weigel Retweeted

https://twitter.com/daveweigel

Meet the New South

Link to tweet

[Colgate 64]

1. Rethuglican voter supression and manipulation

at its finest.

[UncleTomsEvilBrother]

2. This is a turning point

The only real power/defense Black people have in the United States is a vote. Once that is taken away, Black people will no longer be able to "save the Democracy."

There has not been a Democratic President since Carter who has gotten the majority white vote in the United States. With Black votes being taken away, it's going to be interesting to see how moderate and progressive white voters respond.

[certainot]

11. actually, a few athletes could probably destroy the racist talk radio monopoly that sells this shit

and gets most of these racists elected. it is absurdly ironic that black athletes are used all over the country by university (more than the 87 listed here, supporting 260+ xLimbaugh stations!) and many pro sports teams to attract advertisers to racist republican talk radio

in GEORGIA, Georgia 7, Georgia Tech 5, Georgia Southern 2 support 14 xLimbaugh stations

when unis start discussing the absurdity of this situation many advertisers will start abandoning all rw radio and the ad industry will have to force a break up of the monopoly or lose many advertisers to other media

someone with clout just has to start it up - that will be worth a lot of votes and take a lot of leverage from sellouts like manchin

[Stuckinthebush]

3. Jim Crow 2.0

Democracy is on the brink of destruction in these Jim Crow 2.0 states. If we don't have a full court press to do something about this nationally, I do believe the experiment is over.

[calimary]

4. Racism much?

If it fits, it should be worn around.

SINCE it fits, wear it.

[justhanginon]

5. Are Georgia republicans wearing their pointy white hoods in public

or just when they meet each other in private? What a foul group of racist filth they are!

[Traildogbob]

6. Stacy Abrams Bat Signal time.

[ananda]

8. No lawsuits?

Marc Elias?

Stacy Abrams?

??

[JohnnyRingo]

9. The county is "only" 32% AA, so of course they did.

I guess by Georgia election math 66% population = 100% of govt.

I swear, Georgia's GOP legislature want's the state to be one big plantation.

from the article:

In five of the Georgia counties that restructured election boards - Troup, Morgan, Pickens, Stephens and Lincoln - the legislature shifted the power to appoint some or all election board members to local county commissions, all of which are currently controlled by Republicans. Previously, the appointments had been split evenly between the local Democratic and Republican parties, sometimes with other local entities controlling some appointments. The intent of the old system: To ensure a politically balanced or nonpartisan board.

[edhopper]

10. Expect next years election in Georgia

to go 100% to the Repukes, no matter the vote.
And neither Congress nor the Supreme Court will do a thing about it.

[Lonestarblue]

12. You're absolutely right.

Georgia Republicans are doing everything they can to stack the decks for the. And if all their voter suppression tactics do not win the day, they’ll simply claim fraud and throw out perfectly legitimate Democratic ballots. I think at a minimum we need to assume that Senator Warnock’s seat is lost and work like hell in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania to get Senators elected.

[Roc2020]

13. Will see. A year is a loooong ways off

a lot will happen

[edhopper]

14. In that year

they will just do more to ensure they can decide the winner will be whoever they want it to be. They will make the GOP dominated legislature the arbitrator of every election.

[Roc2020]

15. Sure. But there are always

'X' factors in life no one can predict. I'm not assuming the GOP the House until I see it with my own eyes midterms next year.

[edhopper]

18. True

and the MSM will tell us that all those x factors are "bad for the Democrats".

[Roc2020]

20. also true

[Hoyt]

16. Unfortunately, it's no longer up to county to determine Sunday voting. It's limited to

2 Sundays of early voting per election BY STATE LAW.

Democratic organizations need to make sure that people who can only vote on, or want to vote on, Sunday do so on those 2 Sundays.

[edhopper]

17. And there will still be people

who wanted to vote and could not those two Sundays. The GOP is hoping to make it hard enough on as many as they can. That is how they will take the election.

[Hoyt]

19. Well, GA has several weeks of early voting AND one can vote by mail. If one wants to vote, they can.

But, yeah, folks will gripe and say well If I can't vote on the 3rd Sunday, I just won't vote.

That really helps. I'm tired of the excuses for not voting.

[edhopper]

22. There are working people with families

that might have one day they can vote. And as the GOP makes it harder, some might not get the chance.

[Hoyt]

24. I'd suggest getting a mail-in-ballot if there is absolutely no way one can vote early or on

election day.

I'm sure there will always be a few people who still can't make it. I'd suggest they call their local Democratic organization for assistance.

I'd rather laws were changed, but I don't think that is going to happen.

[edhopper]

25. Unfortunately,

people do not do everything possible to vote. Many do not know how to get around the impediments. Their lives are hard and at times they are overwhelmed with simple survival. That is why voter suppression works. Just get enough people not to vote and you can swing an election.
That said, I think their are too many people with no excuse not to vote, and yet still don't. We lost Virginia because of lazy Dem voters.

[Marthe48]

21. We better stop them

Pass laws to rein in the right wing and then figure out who crapped on our democracy.

[edhopper]

23. Except we won't

because Manchin and Simena will not support it.