A study by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution showed that after Shelby, “53 of Georgia’s 159 counties have fewer polling sites now than in 2012.” In addition, “thirty-nine of those 53 counties have higher poverty rates than the rest of the state and 30 of them have large African-American populations.”33 One activist explained, “Closing polling places in Black areas is a transparently racist tactic in line with literacy tests, poll taxes, and intimidation and harassment by law enforcement agents during the Jim Crow era.”
