Fulton County commissioner explains reason behind pushback on Georgia's new voting law

ATLANTA - Democrats on the Fulton County Commission are trying to push back against Georgia's new voting law.

Last week, commissioners voted 4-2 to direct the county attorney to determine what legal recourse the county might have against SB 202.

"We are trying to move forward. We don't want to go backward. We want to move forward," Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. remarked.

Mr. Arrington believes Georgia's new voting law signed by the governor just a few weeks ago moves the state in the wrong direction when one talks about ballot access, particularly in Fulton County.

"We would go from 38 to 8 ballot drop boxes. That right there restricts voting and we would lose our 24 drop boxes. Our voters will only be able to access those during work hours," Arrington said.

Arrington said the new law negates the purpose of drop boxes since voters would have no access after hours.

The Fulton County Democrat said the new law puts Fulton County in a precarious position because most of the lawsuits already filed against the state, also named Fulton County as a defendant.

"When they sued the state, they wound up having to sue us as well. So, we will have to defend our employees and our board of elections and at the same time fight against the additional restrictions imposed by SB 202," Arrington said.

The commissioner said he has also sponsored legislation that will keep the authority to hire and fire the elections supervisor in the hands of the commission. The proposal was postponed Wednesday, but Chairman Robb Pitts may have the last word.

"It's important to get it right...I don't mind it we kick it down the road, as long as we get it." Arrington concluded.

This issue may be voted on at the next board meeting on May 5.

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