Election officials in a majority black Georgia county voted Friday to scrap a widely condemned proposal to eliminate most of their polling places.
Concern about the proposal to close seven of nine voting locations in the rural county was “overwhelming,” and is “an encouraging reminder that protecting the right to vote remains a fundamental American principle,” the elections board in Randolph County said in a statement.
Voting and civil rights groups applauded the decision but said the episode demonstrates the need to restore Voting Rights Act protections that were tossed out by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013.
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