Voters took to the streets Wednesday morning to rally against the closing of a popular Atlanta voting precinct. The Fulton County Elections board decided not to designate the C.T. Martin Natatorium, a regular location on Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, as an early voting precinct for the City of Atlanta residents. Khadijah Abdur-Rahman, a candidate for Fulton County Commission District 6, learned of the decision a week ago and quickly organized the protest. “Early voting is supposed to be easy. Why is it being made hard all of a sudden? The history of C.T. Martin Natatorium for early voting has always been open with the exception of one time for technical difficulties,” stated Abdur-Rahman. The decision affects voters from Southwest Atlanta’s council districts 10 and 11 who participate in the special election and those eligible to vote in the Atlanta School Board District 2 race. Location options provided for early voting by Fulton County are the Stonewall Tell Annex in College Park and four miles west at the Fairburn Library in Fairburn, GA. The only early voting option available for the City of Atlanta residents is the Fulton County Government building on Pryor Street downtown.
“If this is not in District 6, neither is the Fulton County government complex that they’re making these seniors and disabled go downtown to pay $15 - $30 which equates to poll taxes – that’s not in district 6 either,” Abdur-Rahman emphasized.
