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Precinct closures harm voter turnout in Georgia, AJC analysis finds

j brown's body

j brown's body

"A Soros-backed animal"
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Impacting Black folks more, of course. Cheaper than issuing voter IDs I suppose, but a little more obvious.

The AJC mapped Georgia’s 7 million registered voters and compared how distance to their local precincts increased or decreased from 2012 to 2018. During that time, county election officials shut down 8% of Georgia’s polling places and relocated nearly 40% of the state’s precincts.

Most of the precinct closures and relocations occurred after the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013 ended federal oversight of local election decisions under the Voting Rights Act.

The AJC’s analysis, vetted by two nonpartisan statistics experts, showed a clear link between turnout and reduced voting access. The farther voters live from their precincts, the less likely they are to cast a ballot.

Precinct closures and longer distances likely prevented an estimated 54,000 to 85,000 voters from casting ballots on Election Day last year, according to the AJC’s findings.

And the impact was greater on black voters than white ones, the AJC found. Black voters were 20% more likely to miss elections because of long distances.
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Precinct closures decrease Election Day turnout in Georgia

Bolding mine.
 
Do like Colorado...mail-in ballots for everyone who is registered. There are limited polling stations for those who insist on voting in person.

Problem solved.
 
Mycroft said:
Do like Colorado...mail-in ballots for everyone who is registered. There are limited polling stations for those who insist on voting in person.

Problem solved.
Click to expand...

It's pretty much the most flawless process I'm aware of.
 
j brown's body said:
Impacting Black folks more, of course. Cheaper than issuing voter IDs I suppose, but a little more obvious.
Precinct closures decrease Election Day turnout in Georgia
Bolding mine.
Click to expand...


Man, your article is a hoot ... :lol:

"Maggie Coleman lived about a mile from a place to cast her ballot in rural Georgia. Now she has to drive nearly 10 miles ... "

If you live in rural Georgia, chances are pretty good that you have to drive at least 10 miles to get a good supply of groceries ... on a regular basis.


"... Still, in many ways, voting has never been easier in Georgia. Georgia leads the nation in automatic voter registration, with more than 350,000 new voters signed up when they obtained their driver’s licenses since last year’s election. In addition, the state provides three weeks of in-person early voting and voting by mail for anyone who requests a ballot ..."

If you can't find time to take a 10 mile trip within a 3-week window, you are not being serious about voting.
 
Barnacle said:
Man, your article is a hoot ... :lol:

"Maggie Coleman lived about a mile from a place to cast her ballot in rural Georgia. Now she has to drive nearly 10 miles ... "

If you live in rural Georgia, chances are pretty good that you have to drive at least 10 miles to get a good supply of groceries ... on a regular basis.


"... Still, in many ways, voting has never been easier in Georgia. Georgia leads the nation in automatic voter registration, with more than 350,000 new voters signed up when they obtained their driver’s licenses since last year’s election. In addition, the state provides three weeks of in-person early voting and voting by mail for anyone who requests a ballot ..."

If you can't find time to take a 10 mile trip within a 3-week window, you are not being serious about voting.
Click to expand...

Same with requesting a mail ballot. You can call a number they mail it to you and you drop it in the mail box done. You can even track it online.
 
Nalu said:
It's pretty much the most flawless process I'm aware of.
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Agreed. In WA, you no longer even have to provide postage. If you don't vote, you really only have yourself to blame.
 
goodbyte said:
Agreed. In WA, you no longer even have to provide postage. If you don't vote, you really only have yourself to blame.
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That's the way it should be. I get my ballot and a "blue book" (all the measures and races on the ballot with explanations and arguments for and against each issue question prepared by a nonpartisan, or maybe bipartisan, state legislative body) weeks before each election. I can take my time with it, research each issue at home, and drop it into any of a million collection boxes for free. Or put a stamp on it. It's the way voting should be for everyone.
 
i support federal control of elections. too many Republican states get away with making it harder to vote. this is another issue Democratic leadership needs to address if they want to survive. i'm not holding my breath, though.
 
Nalu said:
That's the way it should be. I get my ballot and a "blue book" (all the measures and races on the ballot with explanations and arguments for and against each issue question prepared by a nonpartisan, or maybe bipartisan, state legislative body) weeks before each election. I can take my time with it, research each issue at home, and drop it into any of a million collection boxes for free. Or put a stamp on it. It's the way voting should be for everyone.
Click to expand...
That sounds...excellent.
 
Barnacle said:
Man, your article is a hoot ... :lol:

"Maggie Coleman lived about a mile from a place to cast her ballot in rural Georgia. Now she has to drive nearly 10 miles ... "

If you live in rural Georgia, chances are pretty good that you have to drive at least 10 miles to get a good supply of groceries ... on a regular basis.


"... Still, in many ways, voting has never been easier in Georgia. Georgia leads the nation in automatic voter registration, with more than 350,000 new voters signed up when they obtained their driver’s licenses since last year’s election. In addition, the state provides three weeks of in-person early voting and voting by mail for anyone who requests a ballot ..."

If you can't find time to take a 10 mile trip within a 3-week window, you are not being serious about voting.
Click to expand...

"I hate that they closed that place down because it was more convenient. Maybe I wouldn’t miss elections if it was still open here.”

Coleman's response.

I just realized that I too have been the victim of voter shutout. I used to vote 2 miles from home, then they moved the polling place a couple miles further away. I don't know if I'll ever vote again.
 
Barnacle said:
Man, your article is a hoot ... :lol:

"Maggie Coleman lived about a mile from a place to cast her ballot in rural Georgia. Now she has to drive nearly 10 miles ... "

If you live in rural Georgia, chances are pretty good that you have to drive at least 10 miles to get a good supply of groceries ... on a regular basis.


"... Still, in many ways, voting has never been easier in Georgia. Georgia leads the nation in automatic voter registration, with more than 350,000 new voters signed up when they obtained their driver’s licenses since last year’s election. In addition, the state provides three weeks of in-person early voting and voting by mail for anyone who requests a ballot ..."

If you can't find time to take a 10 mile trip within a 3-week window, you are not being serious about voting.
Click to expand...

Increasing the distance traveled to a polling station incurs more costs. That's a poll tax. :)
 
ludin said:
Same with requesting a mail ballot. You can call a number they mail it to you and you drop it in the mail box done. You can even track it online.
Click to expand...

In this state you have to put two stamps on a mail-in ballot. Effectively a poll tax.
 
So a lot of people did not check ahead to see where they were supposed to vote and didn't care enough on election day to figure it out.
 
Drawdown said:
So a lot of people did not check ahead to see where they were supposed to vote and didn't care enough on election day to figure it out.
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Probably because they couldn't remember when they last voted and how it works.
 
Barnacle said:
Probably because they couldn't remember when they last voted and how it works.
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The road people spend a lot of money putting up "New Traffic Pattern Ahead" advisories for a reason. People are creatures of habit. They do not like to have to think about things.
 
Barnacle said:
Man, your article is a hoot ... :lol:

"Maggie Coleman lived about a mile from a place to cast her ballot in rural Georgia. Now she has to drive nearly 10 miles ... "

If you live in rural Georgia, chances are pretty good that you have to drive at least 10 miles to get a good supply of groceries ... on a regular basis.


"... Still, in many ways, voting has never been easier in Georgia. Georgia leads the nation in automatic voter registration, with more than 350,000 new voters signed up when they obtained their driver’s licenses since last year’s election. In addition, the state provides three weeks of in-person early voting and voting by mail for anyone who requests a ballot ..."

If you can't find time to take a 10 mile trip within a 3-week window, you are not being serious about voting.
Click to expand...

Lol, Try rural Mississippi. I drive 30 miles one way to work every day.
 
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