Voters in Atlanta would have one less hour to cast their ballots under a bill that cleared a subcommittee Thursday.
The legislation, Senate Bill 363, would force the city of Atlanta to close its polls at 7 p.m. like the rest of the state. Currently, Atlanta is allowed to keep precincts open until 8 p.m. under a state law passed in the 1970s.
The bill was filed by Republican Sen. Matt Brass after Democratic Sen. Jen Jordanwon a special election in December to represent a district that covers parts of Atlanta and Cobb County. Voting in Cobb County ended at 7 p.m.
“All the people in the city of Atlanta have a one-hour advantage on the rest of the state,” said Brass, R-Newnan. “We’re trying to get a little more uniformity.”
Opponents of the bill said it would limit voting options for residents fighting through Atlanta traffic after long work days.
I have thought about equality issues like this in When is Uniformity of People, Not Counties, Appropriate in Election Administration? The Cases of Early and Sunday Voting”, 2015 University of Chicago Legal Forum 193 (2015).