Turning Georgia Blue Means Fighting Through Voter Suppression

For the state to turn blue could signal a tidal change, but first, it has to stave off coordinated attack

David Dennis, Jr.
LEVEL

--

Photo: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.

October 12 was the first day of early voting in Georgia, and it was an unmitigated disaster. In the Atlanta area alone, voters in majority-Black suburbs like South Cobb waited upward of five hours to vote, while the upper-class Buckhead district saw waits of around 15 minutes. Elsewhere in the state, voters had to wait as much as 11 hours. So, really, just another catastrophic day of voting for a state that has become a focal point in the struggle between blue and red — as well as over how far one can stretch the rules of voting rights before breaking them.

How did we get here? Well, it begins and ends with one Brian Kemp.

In the end, Kemp won Georgia by 100,000 votes in an election that would have been subject to UN sanctions and investigation had it happened in any other country.

--

--

David Dennis, Jr.
LEVEL

Level Sr. Writer covering Race, Culture, Politics, TV, Music. Previously: The Undefeated, The Atlantic, Washington Post. Forthcoming book: The Movement Made Us