Election officials in Georgia voted against closing a majority of polling locations on Friday.
“In the United States, the right to vote is sacred. It is a right that many generations of brave men and women have fought and died for,” a statement from the county read. “We have elected not to proceed with closing any polling places in Randolph County.”
The controversial proposal would have closed seven out of nine voting stations in the predominantly African American county. According to the county’s statement, the plan was put forward as a way to cut down on costs after a drop in population.
Civil rights organizations said the proposal oppressed African American voters in the upcoming elections in November.
“The Randolph County proposal is discriminatory, unjustifiable, and violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965,” the ACLU Georgia Chapter wrote in a statement. “The timing of the county’s proposal is equally suspicious and calls to question the board’s true motives behind this proposal.”
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