A Georgia town is sending police to black residents’ homes to challenge their voting rights

[DonViejo]

Source: RawStory

BRAD REED
01 AUG 2016 AT 09:21 ET

Jim Crow laws have been off the books for years, but that hasn’t stopped individual states and cities from coming up with new ways to depress minority voter turnout.

Last week, for instance, a U.S. appeals court struck down a North Carolina voter ID law that it said was specifically designed to lower turnout among black voters. And now the New York Times is reporting that a town in Georgia is using its police department to challenge the rights of its black residents to vote.

Specifically, the Times reports that the Hancock County Board of Elections and Registration has been “systematically questioning the registrations of more than 180” black residents in Sparta, Georgia “by dispatching deputies with summonses commanding them to appear in person to prove their residence or lose their voting rights.”

The 180 black residents make up roughly one fifth of Sparta’s total registered voters, the Times notes.

-snip-



Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2016/08/a-georgia-town-is-sending-police-to-black-residents-homes-to-challenge-their-voting-rights/

[obamanut2012]

1. What the everloving hell

[underpants]

2. They're nervous about Georgia.

Not Trump though, he understands that it's in Russia.

[jmowreader]

31. Georgia was part of the USSR.

It's an independent nation now.

[Orrex]

34. And she painted all of those flowery vaginas.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

43. And he edited video destroying ACORN.

[mountain grammy]

3. WTF?

[Chicago1980]

4. Sparta?

We need Mr. Tibbs to investigate.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

44. Troy.

Last edited Mon Aug 1, 2016, 08:52 PM - Edit history (1)

Which is filled with Trojans.

Ribbed, no doubt.

[bucolic_frolic]

5. I would be doubly outraged

that my tax dollars were being used for this purpose. Pretty
expensive Elections Board workers, no?

[randr]

6. Jusice Thomas must be a proud man today

[rladdi]

17. The GOP voted for him even tho he was accused of being a sex abuser. This says alot about the

Republicans.

[uawchild]

7. Talk about voter intimidation.

Good lord, have we become THAT fascist THIS fast?

[niyad]

25. yes

[jpak]

8. Been through Sparta many times - this does not surprise me

Someone needs to sue these assholes and fire those deputies.

Yup

[SnowCritter]

10. Let's not forget about the Sheriff

The deputies work for the Sheriff.

[brer cat]

47. I would like to know the race

of the sheriff and deputies. Sparta is only 15% white. Of course, in rural areas, a few whites can wield a ton of power, but still overcoming over 80% of the population would be very hard to do.

[csziggy]

50. Sheriff Tomlyn (Terrell) Primus ran as a Democrat

Here is his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/terrell.primus

I'm surprised he is allowing this to happen. I wonder if this is from one of the right wing voter suppression groups. The original article says:

The majority-white Hancock County Board of Elections and Registration was systematically questioning the registrations of more than 180 black Sparta citizens — a fifth of the city’s registered voters — by dispatching deputies with summonses commanding them to appear in person to prove their residence or lose their voting rights.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/01/us/critics-see-efforts-to-purge-minorities-from-voter-rolls-in-new-elections-rules.html

I guess if the Board of Elections and Registration issues summons, the sheriff's office has no choice but to serve them - though I would hope that the Sheriff would go public and denounce this use of his officers!

[brer cat]

52. Thanks for adding this.

I wish I knew someone living in that area to get an inside feel for the situation. It used to be common in small towns like this for a white family to control just about everything, and I guess it is still true some places. It's certainly a disturbing situation and I hope the Justice Dept can take a look at it. I'd love to see these racists brought up on charges.

[Firestorm49]

9. Un............ing believable!

Here we are in what the GOP wants to turn into Nazi Germany. I am dumbfounded at the audacity of the GOP, which is "win at any cost". They obviously can't even come up with a semi credible candidate for president, so they go into the gutter. What bastards.

[turbinetree]

11. Time for the ACLU to step in, this is outright harassment

Lets not forget what the Georgia Legislature was doing at another event, just a reminder:

Honk--------for a political revolution

[Golden Raisin]

14. Outright harassment

that could be right out of the 1930s/1940s/1950s. Are we now officially going backwards in this country? Trump and the Republicans sure want us to. This is exactly the kind of "great" they mean when they say, "Make America great again."

[turbinetree]

53. They are now, officially the "White Nationalist Party as far as I am concerned

you do not go in any official capacity and ask for proof of voting at someone's home-------------never.

And in Hitchcock outside of Macon, GA they are doing this, where is the Justice Department and the ACLU and the media, at this sheriffs home and asking him to produce his or her voting records .

What is really "despicable" about this whole item on this, is these officials if they had this done to them what would they think, and how many people in the area from the past to the present had family members defending them in combat and dying to uphold the Constitutional right to vote---------------there are laws on the books at the state and federal level when it comes to intimidation and outright harassment

[ffr]

18. What an explosive report done by that news organization

Money out of government. And who's taking the money? White male republicans.

GOTV

And share turbinetree's video.

Holy fucking wow!

[turbinetree]

54. Just think in your state right now as we speak on this thread how many of the your

state representatives go to these "meetings of the minds", it really frightening.

In my state I go to where they are standing around during the day of the election and I ask them have you been to an ALEC meeting, have you passed or put legislation up to a vote that has there finger prints all over it, I don't like ALEC and the KOCH"S and there "Dark Money", they (Koch's ) started ALEC, Americans for Prosperity, and about thirty more 501(c) 3 non-profits, and now they are going local and at school boards, they, now own the National Geographic, and are on the boards at the Smithsonian.

The worst one(s) are done at Florida University and George Mason University, just type in Koch and both of these Universities, the
indoctrination is beginning there

[ffr]

55. I might just see what I can find

Thanks turbinetree!

[turbinetree]

61. Your welcome

Democracy is not a spectator sport get involved-----------tag your it

[n2doc]

12. Rural Georgia, where Jim Crow lives on! n/t

[IronLionZion]

13. Is this why congressional repubs claim the voting rights act is outdated?

and needs to be repealed?

These assholes really don't want voters to vote. They are worried about even small rural towns in Georgia now?

[The Second Stone]

30. Congressional republicans voted for the voting rights act renewal

because they presumably knew it was necessary. It was the five very highly educated fascist republicans on the Supreme Court that decided that the Legislature was wrong and that the US was post racial and struck down the law on the basis of their personal knowledge. They basically said confederate states would never do Jim Crow things again. Within a day or two, virtually every Jim Crow state (and other Republican legislative states) introduced bills which passed like prune juice through a gramma to keep the dark folks from voting. The District Courts are just now starting to strike down those laws.

[IronLionZion]

33. WTF?

Those justices should have known better, even Clarence Thomas. Those assholes up on their ivory towers are out of touch.

People actually died for the right to vote.

[The Second Stone]

36. They did know better. They are just party hacks

and they should be treated as such.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

15. Bet those cops are BANGING on the doors to deliver those too.

[ffr]

16. We can summon police to do this

but we cannot get republicans to give us an up or down vote to keep semi-automatic assault rifles out of the hands of known terrorists.

This kind of story just supports the need to be sure that each of us has double-checked our voting status this election and to be vigilant in getting everyone to vote for as many democrats in any and every office as they can possibly vote for.

[Cryptoad]

19. ACLU,,,,,,

u still awake down in GA?


ACLU of Georgia
[e-mail]
1900 The Exchange Southeast
Atlanta, GA 30339
United States
[phone] | Fax: [phone]
Web: http://www.acluga.org

[Ilsa]

20. Can the Dept. Of Justice do anything?

This is deplorable.

[lark]

32. Calling the Justice Dept, are you there?

This needs immediate action. The sherriff and deputies need to be fired and put in jail. I'm not an attorney so don't know what the official "cause" would be, but this does not pass the sniff test. It's dirty and must be stopped.

[allan01]

21. Id stop paying my taxes

[cannabis_flower]

22. Sounds reprehensible but..

at least they aren't just dropping them off the roles and they show up to vote and find out they can't.

[Judi Lynn]

27. They are trying to frighten them so badly they won't even dare try to vote.

They're heading them off at the pass, letting them know voting can be a very dangerous activity, still.

[brer cat]

46. Sparta is only 15% white.

They are going to have a real uphill fight to stop the Black vote there. The county voted 80% for Obama in 2012. I find it unbelievable they are trying this stunt there.

[Judi Lynn]

49. It's shocking to think anyone would actually stoop this low.

They must be convinced they with all their weapons they can control the whole town.

It's probably been that way since before the Civil War, too.

Time for a change. Human lives shouldn't be risked, however, trying to put an end to these monsters. They would love nothing better than for others to try to overturn their dirty vicious reign of terror, so they could get busy doing what they love best: terrorizing the community.

[groundloop]

28. Just as bad - this way folks won't even bother to show up to vote

What these bastards are counting on is that people won't want to spend the time and effort to prove that they're registered voters. Also, I'm sure there's an intimidation factor involved with having a uniformed deputy pounding on your door (and I highly doubt that the conversation starts out "Sorry to inconvenience you.....&quot .

[LanternWaste]

39. Regardless of the method, suppression of votes never requires a qualifier or conjunction such as "bu

Regardless of the method, suppression of votes never requires a qualifier or conjunction such as "but." As it is reprehensible on its own, and without the contrast of a first clause.

[cstanleytech]

23. This is BS and the feds need to take action and actually put these assholes in prison. nt

[SwankyXomb]

24. Voting rights threatened in Georgia you say?

Sounds like a job for

[redstatebluegirl]

26. Good grief! We are moving back to 1950!

[Judi Lynn]

29. Sad day for the country, not just the poor people getting home visits from racists. n/t

[rocktivity]

35. And not just ANY town in Georgia

rocktivity

[Sunriser13]

37. So, let me get this straight...

They're “... dispatching deputies with summonses..." to their residences "...commanding them to appear in person to prove their residence..."

Did I get that right?

Sorry, y'all, this jest don't pass the smell test at'aaall !! (With apologies for attempting my horrible NC accent in print...)

[zz-la]

45. Yeah makes no sense

But then again racism doesn't make sense. Clearly they are losing their GOP stronghold on the state and they are worried Hillary just might push Georgia blue. I hope so.

[dicksmc3]

38. WTF!!

This is really, really disgusting!! We need a constitutional amendment giving EVERYONE the right to vote without jumping through these god damn HOOPS republicans put in place!! Jim Crowe plain and simple. When's the feds coming in on this?? Do they even care?? This is without a doubt one of the DIRTIEST tricks these asshole republicans have pulled!! The Hancock County Board of Elections consist of 3 members---ALL REPUBLICAN!!

[Judi Lynn]

40. These racist lunatics need to be stopped immediately. They've gone way too far. n/t

[Bernardo de La Paz]

41. Hard to find a more blantant racist example than Sparta, Georgia. Throw the board in jail. Now. nt

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

42. I thought Fux Noise said racism was over

[undergroundpanther]

48. This is horrible

I'm in Maryland but that's out right fascist!!!!!

[etherealtruth]

51. WTF

seriously, WTF?

[csziggy]

56. Here is an opportunity for activists! August 11, they are having a ceremony

For the rededication of the Hancock County Courthouse Ceremony - Thursday, August 11, 2016, 10am.

Sounds like the perfect day and time for a protest.

ETA - Or for a voter registration drive!!!

[ZombieHorde]

57. But if Blac Bloc sets one of their Klan cars on fire we should

all pretend to be very displeased.

[2naSalit]

58. Call in the feds right f'ing NOW!!!

[Hoyt]

59. The good news is few seem to be scratched from rolls. Hope people take advantage of absentee and

and early voting to avoid intimidation, illness, bad weather, employers limiting time off on election day, Klan blocking roads, etc.

As soon as they are available, I'm getting my absentee ballot and sending it in so that there is no way I don't vote for Democrats.

[Odin2005]

60. I can't believe shit like this is happening in 2016.

[Panich52]

62. K & r & tweeted