Elections board decides not to close all but 2 polling places in a majority-black county in Georgia

By Victor Blackwell, Devon M. Sayers and Pamela Kirkland, CNN
Updated 8:42 AM ET, Fri August 24, 2018

A Georgia board of elections voted down a plan to close seven of a majority-black county's nine polling places ahead of November's midterm elections. The meeting where the vote took place lasted less than 60 seconds.

Critics had said the plan to consolidate polling places in Randolph County, Georgia, was a clear effort to suppress the black vote in Georgia's governor race, which pits former Georgia House minority leader Stacey Abrams, who is black, against Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who is white.

[Original story, published at 8:11 a.m. ET]

A rural Georgia county's Board of Elections is scheduled to vote Friday on a controversial proposal to close seven of the majority-black county's nine polling places ahead of the November midterm election. The vote comes amid widespread national criticism and days after the county terminated its contract with the proposal's architect.

Critics have called the plan to consolidate polling places in Randolph County a brazen attempt to suppress the black vote in Georgia's governor's race, one of the marquee contests of 2018 season. The race pits former Georgia House minority leader Stacey Abrams, who is black, against Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who is white.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/24/us/randolph-county-polling-closures-vote/index.html