Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 10-23-18

Political News
Outrage After Elderly Black Voters In Georgia Were Forced Off Bus Taking Them To Polling Place
Black Voters Matter is driving their voting bus across the state to encourage Black voters who don’t have access to transportation to vote in the midterm elec- tions. The organization vis- ited seniors at the Leisure Center in Jefferson County and discussed the impor- tance of voting before invit- ing them aboard the bus.
Outside the bus, the sen- ior citizens danced and cele- brated their opportunity to take part in democracy.
Officials in Jefferson County, Georgia are being accused of voter suppression after preventing a bus from taking a group of black senior citizens to vote on October 15, 2018.
But once they were on the bus, Black Voters Matter co-
founder Cliff Albright an- nounced that they’d have to
get off. According to Leisure Center’s staff, someone called county officials and complained that the bus should not be taking voters to the polls, reported Think Progress.
The Atlanta Journal-Con- sttution on Tuesday re- ported that a Jefferson County clerk said officials considered the bus tour “po- litical activity,” which is barred at county-sponsored events. The senior center is a county-run facility.
LaTosha Brown, Black Voters Matter’s other co- founder, said there was nothing illegal about the group’s activity and the or- ganization doesn’t endorse any particular candidate. She called it a clear-cut case of “voter intimidation.”
“This is voter suppression, Southern style,” said Brown. “I’m very upset. I’m angry. I’m frustrated. I’ve got a lot of emotions right now.”
Bonnie Wells, the clerk for the Jefferson County Commission, denied allega- tions of voter suppression. Wells also told ThinkProgress her office didn’t receive any calls com- plaining about Black Voters Matter’s activity.
Late Tuesday, the NAACP
Legal Defense and Educa- tional Fund sent a letter to the county demanding that officials open an “immediate investigation” into the inci- dent, which the fund called “an unacceptable act of voter intimidation.”
“During this electoral sea- son, we all should be com- mitted to ensuring that more, not fewer, eligible vot- ers can participate and exer- cise their fundamental right to vote,” read the letter signed by Leah Aden, the or- ganization’s deputy director of litigation.
Black Voters Matter or- ganizers said they did not know who called the com- missioner, but believes it was someone who took issue seeing a group of elderly Black people celebrating their right to vote.
“Even in the absence of law, they will use tactics like intimidation and voter sup- pression,” Brown said. “Somebody called the county commission, but there was nothing illegal or inappropriate.”
The senior center has its own bus that it can use to bring the elderly voters to the polls in the future, Brown said.
“At the end of the day, every senior that got off that bus, not only are they going to vote, but they’re going to get five to ten people to vote with them,” she said
PAGE 6 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018