Georgia voters are facing another very volatile election season as everyday citizens have taken up the call to purge voter rolls and mount individual challenges to voters they consider questionable. Having been the epicenter of political shenanigans since Donald Trump attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election and falsely claimed that he had won in Georgia and even personally pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Rafensberger to “find 11,000” votes for a Trump win.
Additionally, state legislators were ordered only last week to return to the political drawing board to redraw voting districts as current districts deliberately disenfranchise specific populations, including African Americans, young people, and the unhoused.
But this new attempt to eliminate Georgians who will likely cast their votes for Democratic candidates is resulting in private citizens challenging the right of other private citizens to vote.
Karl Swift, chair of the election board of DeKalb County acknowledges that the move on the part of conservative activists in Georgia targets certain segments of the population. “It’s young voters, it’s people of color, and it’s people that are unhoused,” said Swift. “Those are generally the types of people that end up in voter challenges.”
One of those who was nearly erased from the rolls and put at risk of having his voter registration canceled is Gulf War veteran James McWhorter, who received a letter at the barbershop he manages in the middle of October from DeKalb County informing him that someone had challenged his voter status. The challenger, a woman named Gail Lee, argued McWhorter improperly registered to vote at a commercial address and snapped photos of his barbershop, which is located inside an Atlanta-area Kroger supermarket, as evidence. Although McWhorter says he doesn’t know Gail Lee “from a can of paint” he was shocked that she could personally challenge his right to vote…
Read the full article here
