The Latest on a Georgia county’s decision involving the closure of polling places (all times local):
CUTHBERT, Ga. — The Latest on a Georgia county’s decision involving the closure of polling places (all times local):
8:50 a.m.
Election officials have scrapped a widely condemned proposal to eliminate most of the polling places in a majority black Georgia county.
The elections board said it voted Friday against the plan that would close seven of nine voting locations in the rural county.
County officials say an independent consultant had recommended the consolidation to save money. That consultant has been fired.
The consultant had said during public meetings that the seven polling places slated for closure don’t comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. But critics raised questions about the timing during a hotly contested race in which Democrat Stacey Abrams is seeking to become Georgia’s first black governor.
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6 a.m.
The elections board of a predominantly black rural Georgia county is set to vote Friday on a widely condemned proposal to close most of its voting places.
Black voters said they’d be disenfranchised by the plan to shutter seven of nine polling places in Randolph County.
The polling places were just used in this year’s primaries. But an independent consultant recommended their closure to save money and because they don’t comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The county fired that consultant on Thursday.
Opponents questioned why a county would make it harder to vote during the hotly contested race for governor. Georgia’s top elections official, Republican Brian Kemp, is running against Democrat Stacey Abrams, who would become Georgia’s first black governor. Both said they oppose the plan.
