A county attorney in Georgia who represented a majority Black county was removed from his post after protesters called for his firing. What did he do, you ask? Well, he tried to suppress the vote of his constituents.
According to CNN, state Rep. Barry Fleming, (R-Harlem) was one of the many Republicans in the state who co-signed a series of legislations that would enact stricter voting requirements in the state. These restrictions would disproportionately affect Black voters, and I guess Fleming forgot that he was also the attorney for Hancock County.
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Fun fact about Hancock County: 7 out of 10 residents are Black.
Predictably, they didnβt take too kindly to their county attorney being on board with suppressing their vote. Voter suppression was already so bad in the county that residents will cast votes under the eye of a federal examiner this year as a result of the county being accused of unfairly removing Black voters from the rolls in a federal lawsuit.
βSo many people in the county didnβt know he was the attorney. Now, some Blacks in the community who ... have an understanding of things are infuriated,β Johnny Thornton, who helped launch the federal lawsuit regarding the voter rolls, told CNN. βWeβre one of the poorest counties in the country, and weβre paying this attorney and heβs in Atlanta creating laws to further restrict our voting rights.β
Last week, a group of approximately 40 protesters pulled up to the Hancock County Courthouse with signs and shirts calling for Fleming to be fired. Sure enough, during the scheduling meeting between the county commissioners, he was.
From CNN:
The commissioners opted to ask Fleming to step down, though their reasoning is not clear: The minutes indicate his future with the county was decided in an hourlong executive session closed to the public.
βI donβt think it needs discussion,β Commissioner Ted Reid, who was in the session, told CNN. βMr. Fleming was asked to resign by unanimous consent.β
Asked why, Reid said the commission had released a statement, but he was referring to the commission meetingβs minutes, which are unofficial and provide no rationale.
They say only, βUnanimous consent by Commissioners to ask Mr. Fleming for resignation,β and add that βwhile the search for county attorney services is in process,β any legal matters will be addressed by a partner from Flemingβs law firm outside Augusta.
For his part, Fleming had no ill will regarding his firing and told WXIA that βHancock County is a great place,β after losing his position. He went on to say that the protesters βmisunderstandβ the voting rights legislation but didnβt provide any information to clear up the βmisunderstanding.β
The only one who seems to misunderstand the legislation seems to be Fleming. I donβt know how you can argue that putting obstacles for Black people to get the polls is a good thing for Black people. The math just ainβt mathing.
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