Democrats in Georgia are trying to motivate black voters by exploiting Michael Brown’s death, urging them to vote “if you want to prevent another Ferguson…”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained flyers that use images from the Ferguson protests and of two black children holding up signs that say “don’t shoot” to urge Democrats to vote early “if you want to prevent another Ferguson in their futures,” and because “it’s up to you to make change happen.” The mailers also note that the vast majority of Ferguson’s elected officials and police officers are white, even though the city is two-thirds black and asks, “what are we going to do about it?”

“If we want a better, safer future for our children, it’s up to us to vote for change,” it says.

Democrat Michelle Nunn and Republican David Perdue are in a tight Senate race in Georgia, while Republican Gov. Nathan Deal is fending off Democrat Jason Carter. In the Senate race, polls show that Perdue has an edge among those who have already voted. Georgia Democrats reportedly have been strategizing about the best way to exploit Ferguson to “push black turnout to roughly 30 percent of the electorate in order to break Republicans’ statewide winning streak.”

Deal (R) said the “scare tactics to try to get people to vote” were “despicable” and “regrettable” while Nunn told the Journal-Constitution that there “needs to be a conversation, and Ferguson really does force us to have that conversation and gives us a chance to talk about equal treatment under the law and how we are investing in our young people.”

“And are we equitably applying our justice system across the board,” Nunn added. “As it relates to voting, our message has been that everyone needs to have their voice heard. We have richer and more vibrant communities and a more dynamic democracy when everybody participates.”

Brown’s autopsy reportedly found that he was not shot with his “hands up,” debunking the “gentle giant” myth that was immediately perpetuated in the mainstream press and by activists after his death.

But Georgia Democratic Party Chairman DuBose Porter reportedly said Georgians need to talk about Ferguson, because there are “communities that can explode like that because you’ve taken the opportunity away from them.” Porter told the Journal-Constitution that voters need to talk “not just police violence but the circumstances to put people in the conditions that they’re in.That’s what we need to change in Georgia, because that’s what you have.”

Photos courtesy Atlanta Journal-Constitution