Opponents of Atlanta’s public safety training center submitted 100,000-plus signatures last year from residents who want to see the issue put on the ballot for voters to decide. But a year later, the fate of the referendum is still unclear as people on both sides of the issue await a ruling by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal that will help determine which signatures are valid, and which are not.
Here’s a timeline of key moments in the ballot initiative:
June 7, 2023: The “Vote to Stop Cop City” coalition announced on the steps of City Hall the launch of a campaign to put the public safety training center on the ballot. Under state law, organizers had 60 days to collect at least 15% — or 58,231— verified signatures from Atlanta voters who were registered in the most recent election.
Credit: Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason.Getz@ajc.com
July 6, 2023: A group of DeKalb County residents sued the city of Atlanta and the state over the Georgia law that requires petition collectors to reside within city limits. The plaintiffs — who all live within four miles of the site — argue that they should be allowed to canvass for signatures.
July 27, 2023: U.S. District Judge Mark Cohen ruled in favor of plaintiffs, allowing them and others living outside of Atlanta to begin collecting signatures for a referendum petition. The consequential ruling restarted the 60-day timeline for signature collection. In his decision, Cohen wrote that the residency requirement “imposes a severe burden on core political speech.”
July 31, 2023: The city of Atlanta appeals the ruling, arguing it “rewrites the state statute and city ordinance,” and alleges that doing so is a power the court does not have. It also pushed back against the timeline extension, saying that it creates confusion around when the petition must be submitted.
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Aug. 3, 2023: The South River Watershed Alliance filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Atlanta, alleging it violated the Clean Water Act. The lawsuit claims stormwater discharges from the training center construction site didn’t comply with permit restrictions. Plaintiffs asked the court to issue an immediate stop work order which was ultimately denied.
Aug. 14, 2023: In the DeKalb County residents’ lawsuit, Cohen denied a request from the city to delay implementation of his decision to restart the timeline for opponents.
Aug. 21, 2023: Interim Municipal Clerk Vanessa Waldon released details of the process the city will use to verify petition signatures. The manual line-by-line review of tens of thousands of names included signature-matching — a controversial method of checking handwriting against voter registration documents. City officials have said there will be a curing process for questionable signers.
Aug. 29, 2023: More than 60 opponents of the training center were indicted on RICO charges over the ongoing efforts to halt construction of the project. All the protesters were charged with violating the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations act. Some face additional charges of domestic terrorism, arson and money laundering.
Sept. 1 2023: The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the city and granted a temporary delay of Cohen’s initial decision that restarted the collection timeline. The ruling from the appellate court added to the uncertainty of when petition signatures had to be submitted to the city.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Sept. 11, 2023: Referendum organizers tow 16 cardboard boxes filled with tens of thousands of signatures to officially submit the training center petition to the municipal clerk’s office. Although the clerk took custody of the paperwork, the city refused to begin the verification process citing pending litigation. Under state law, the city has 50 days after a petition is submitted to count and validate each name.
Sept. 15, 2023: U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock — whose campaign platform hinged on voting rights — sent a letter to Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens urging the city to be more transparent about the petition verification process.
Sept. 17, 2023: High-profile Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she supports the training center referendum and that city officials should embrace the democratic engagement without pushing back.
Sept. 19, 2023: Atlanta City Council unanimously passed a resolution urging the clerk’s office to post publicly all the submitted petitions. On Sept. 29, the clerk’s office posted some 25,000 scanned pages online without redacting personal information like signer’s street address and phone number along with their signatures. The posting of personal information sparked outcry from petition organizers who thought additional redactions would be made.
Credit: Riley Bunch / Riley.Bunch@ajc.com
Credit: Riley Bunch / Riley.Bunch@ajc.com
Nov. 13, 2023: Several hundred opponents of Atlanta’s public safety training center attempted to march to the site from Gresham Park Recreation Center, taking over busy city streets along the way. The group was met on Constitution Road by DeKalb County Police that deployed tear gas and flash-bang grenades to disperse the protest.
Dec. 13, 2023: An analysis of petition pages by the AJC along with The Associated Press, Georgia Public Broadcasting and WABE found organizers actually turned in approximately 108,500 signatures — short of the 116,000 they claimed. But, depending on the process and criteria the city uses to verify names, the success of the petition likely hinges on a narrow margin, the media partners concluded.
Feb. 6, 2024: Atlanta City Council members passed legislation that codifies the petition verification process. The final paper was a stripped-down version of a bill that was supported by organizers. The ordinance was altered so much that, ultimately, its author Liliana Bakhtiari voted against it.
Sept. 16, 2024: Training center opponents plan to amass at Atlanta City Hall to mark the anniversary of submitting the petition pages. Organizers say they want to send a message to the city officials that protesters aren’t going away.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
About the Author
