Despite allegations of racial discrimination, seven out of nine polling places in Randolph County, Georgia may be closed for the upcoming November elections. The proposed plan has sparked heated backlash from the public who fears their voting rights are being violated.

According to a consultant hired by the county’s Board of Elections, Mike Malone, the polling spaces to be shut down are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Given the November elections are just around the corner, officials believe there isn’t enough time to fix them.

Some members of the community have expressed their disagreement, frustration, even outrage at the proposed closing. Sean Young, Legal Director of the ACLU of Georgia, protested “If a government building is not ADA compliant, the solution is to make them ADA compliant. If you cut your hand, you don’t chop off your arm, you heal the wound.”

According to a letter drafted by the ACLU to the county board, there is evidence of racial discrimination in the proposal. The county in question is 75% African American and has 30% of its inhabitants live under the poverty line.

Given the economic situation of many of the county’s members, access to transportation is limited. Therefore, the ACLU argues that by closing down nearly every polling space in the county, voter turnout would be impacted.

“Eliminate 7 out of 9 polling locations, that’s going to guarantee lower turnout for the election and makes you wonder if that is what the purpose of that is,” Young questioned.

During these upcoming November elections, Stacey Abrams will be the first female black candidate running for governor to be backed by the democratic party. Young has pointed out that by lowering the accessibility to voting polls, the results are being tampered.

The ACLU also highlighted that residents of Randolph County are over 60% black. The voter makeup of one of the polling spaces which are expected to close is nearly 97% black.

The racial majority of the polling spaces and the nomination of the first female black democratic candidate for governor has led the ACLU to accuse the county’s Board of Elections of racial discrimination.

An activist against the proposed plan said, “The bottom line is, it’s about race, that’s the problem that it’s creating.”

John Watson, Chairman of Georgia’s Republican party, disagrees. Watson emphasized, “there are no barriers to people voting in Georgia, the only barrier is the free will and exercise of one’s feet to go and either drop an absentee ballot in the mailbox, go to a polling booth on election day or go to an advance location.”