Unyielding attention is currently fixated on the upcoming prospects of the United States. Exchanges on who will claim victory in the presidential election scheduled for November 5th and the expectations for the next quadrennial are rampant.
Nonetheless, a journey across Georgia constantly prompts reminiscence of the nation’s history with its stark and melancholy episodes, some of which are not so distant.
The memory of Martin Luther King jnr, the civil rights activist whose life was cut short by an assassin’s bullet in 1968, is engrained in Georgia’s landscape. Streets, parks and various other landmarks spanning from Atlanta to Augusta, and to Macon celebrate his legacy.
Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, the globe’s most frequented passenger terminal, honours two former Democrat mayors, William Hartsfield and Maynard Jackson. Their contributions significantly influenced Atlanta’s trajectory. Hartsfield, despite initially supporting segregation like most southern statesmen in the mid-1900s, gracefully accepted the emerging influence of black politics. He supervised the integration of black police officers and strived to brand Atlanta as a ‘city too busy to hate’.
Jackson’s election as the first black mayor of any significant southern city occurred merely 50 years ago, an achievement much admired. His pro-minority business policies, infrastructure development initiatives, and efforts to ameliorate racial disparities during a divided era are celebrated.
Ivan Allen Jr, another mayor, forged bonds with notable civil rights activists, including King jnr, calling for Atlanta’s populace to “inspire the world” by overcoming segregation. A boulevard renamed in his honour serves as the location for the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.
A chilling reminder of the past is provided by the centre’s exhibit on Jim Crow laws, the first sight upon entry. Named after a bigoted 19th-century caricature, these egregious regulations provided legal protection for segregation in former Confederate states until the mid-1960s. They intended to restrict interaction between African Americans and Caucasians across various societal aspects including, education, transportation, healthcare, marriage, and voting privileges.
The ‘Jim Crow’ phrase has resurfaced, 60 years later, amidst the ongoing controversy around Joe Biden’s narrow 2020 election success in Georgia. Donald Trump and certain followers continually assert that the election was rigged through extensive voter deceit, leading to an extended courtroom battle and the infamous January 6, 2021, US Capitol assault.
In a series of moves perceived as efforts to curtail certain individuals’ ability to cast their votes, several measures have been put in place. These encompass more rigid identification prerequisites, a reduction in the number of early vote deposit boxes, a shorter timeframe to request and return a postal ballot, as well as voters having the liberty to lodge an endless number of objections against other county voters’ registrational integrity.
Three members of Georgia State Election Board, who are seen as political nominees favouring the ‘Maga Republicans’, have been lauded by Trump for their attempts to curtail further “fraudulence”. These measures have been condemned as “Jim Crow of the current era” by President Biden.
Dr Adrienne Jones, an assistant professor in political science at Morehouse College in Atlanta, where King junior is an alumnus, states that for a long time now, various districts, especially Georgia, have been “at liberty to enact laws that render it harder for people to reach the voting booths.”
Jones notes that most of these primarily afflict “black voters and voters from ethnic minorities”. She also draws attention to a 2013 decision by the US Supreme Court that revoked parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. This Act had previously compelled certain states and local governments to seek federal consent for the modification of voting regulations.
Jones explains that previously, “Jim Crow” voting laws were in place, but current laws seem to also unfairly impact young voters, senior voters, and disabled voters, cohorts that generally vote for the Democrats.
Travis Doss, the executive director of the Augusta-based Richmond County Board of Elections, has experienced first-hand the Republican outrage at the 2020 outcome which many party members assumed would undoubtedly reflect opinion poll predictions and local customs. The controversy arising from this belief created “considerable scepticism” about the credibility of the voting system, amid a global health crisis that unleashed widespread uncertainty.
At the Republicans’ behest, an examination of nearly five million votes cast across Georgia’s 159 counties was initiated. “The outcome remained consistent, with a margin of error of one or two,” reports Doss. Despite this, Trump proceeded to utilise his entitlement for a comprehensive recount through the state’s electronic voting machines, which culminated in a similar margin of around 11,800 votes separating the contenders.
Doss notes the emergence of conspiracy theories surrounding the election. These theories alleged hidden ballot manipulation and fraudulent voting by deceased individuals, amongst other claims. These claims gave rise to lawsuits and threats but ultimately proved baseless. However, these theories continue to persist without any credible evidence.
President Trump maintained his innocence over the adjusted indictment for the 2020 US elections. Richard, an early voter from Warren Road in Augusta, supports Trump’s decision to seek legal recourse for his concerns over the election outcome. Despite his case being summarily dismissed, Richard contends that Trump’s continued insistence on election mismanagement undermines trust in the democratic process and suggests that votes may be altered, thereby undermining the governance system.
Carl Payne, another early voter, firmly believes in the security of the US electoral process. He dismisses the fraud allegations, highlighting the various voting channels available which are all accurately tallied without any proven instances of fraud.
Jeff Dunn, meanwhile, shared the concerns of many Americans regarding the 2020 election handling based on reported occurrences. He posited that individuals are unlikely to file false affidavits. His concerns led him to assume civic responsibilities as a poll watcher to ensure fair procedures are adhered to in future elections. He is confident that voters will not be intimidated and that their votes will be cast and counted privately.
Doss states that poll monitors have traditionally been part of pre-election voting and should be fostered, as the more observers present, the simpler it becomes to disprove false claims. Despite this, he reports an increasing air of mistrust around the manipulation of the voting system, referring to an incidence of voter mistake as opposed to a malfunction of a voting machine.
”Regrettably, the specific race that the voter got wrong was the election for sheriff. However, a congresswoman began to rabble-rouse about the presidential elections,” he supplements.
Over half the total vote count from 2020, equating to more than 2.6 million votes, had been submitted in Georgia prior to Sunday. Five days remain for pre-election voting. Trump is driving his supporters to vote early and abundantly to ascertain his triumph is “too big to rig”.
”My aspiration with any election is for substantial gaps,” says Doss. “So when all is said and done, it’s unequivocal and indisputable who the victor is. Regrettably, if current surveys turn out to be accurate, this is unlikely to be the case.”
Outside the electoral board’s office, a memorial plaque commemorates the largest outbreak of resistance in Georgia during the Civil Rights movement. In May 1970, black citizens convened to request an inquiry into the beating death of Charles Oatman, a 16-year-old, in the county jail. Protests ignited due to the denial of their demands which resulted in the police killing six individuals and injuring several others.
Inside the office, Travis Doss is planning for what’s to come. He’s planning to retire following the 2028 election. As the saying goes, he has to stay for four more years.
Inevitably, the relentless scrutiny on America’s future will continue during this time as well. Who will be victorious in that election? And how will the subsequent years unfold?