ATLANTA — The Republican-controlled Senate just passed a bill that would make every election in five metro Atlanta counties non-partisan, except for sheriff and coroner.
The five counties are controlled by Democratic commissions: Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb, and Clayton.
If the bill passed the House, those Democrats say it clearly violates the equal protection clause by targeting just five Democratic counties.
The Republican sponsor insists this isn’t about politics. This, he says, is about public safety.
“The whole rationale for this bill doesn’t make any sense,” Augusta Democratic state Sen. Harold Jones said.
Roswell Republican state Sen. John Albers insists the bill is not about partisan politics but about public safety, so that county leaders don’t have to worry about politics as the FIFA World Cup comes to town.
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“It has nothing to do with a party,” Albers told Channel 2’s Richard Elliot. “We have the Super Bowl coming here. We have the NCAA. We had the World Cup. We have all these conglomerations of federal, state, and local agencies working together. If we can take the politics out of that equation, that means we’re focusing on public safety, which is my number one priority.”
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis called the bill nonsense.
She sent Elliot a statement, saying:
“The targeting of the five African American women Democrats who were chosen by voters of their counties to serve as district attorneys is racist, sexist, and clearly unconstitutional.”
Jones agreed, insisting a bill that targets only five of 159 counties in Georgia -- Democratic strongholds -- clearly violates the U.S. Constitution.
He said the fact that county sheriffs are not included in the bill proves public safety is not the motivation behind it.
“If that was the case, if the sheriffs are partisan, which they are, wouldn’t that also undercut public safety?” Jones said.
Elliot reached out to other county leaders on Wednesday, but most wanted to hold off on comment until the bill came back to the House.
There are only a few days left before Sine Die, and the House would have to approve this before it became law.
If it does, Democrats are promising lawsuits.
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