Pastor calls attention to lack of early voting sites in Atlanta's 30314 zip code
Pastor draws attention to early voting site problems
An Atlanta pastor is calling on the Fulton County elections board to correct what is being called an oversight. The pastor says, and even Fulton County admits, there are no early voting sites in the city's poorest zip code, 30314. Fox 5's Aungelique Proctor has the story.
ATLANTA - An Atlanta Pastor is demanding change after he says there are no early voting sites in the heart of Atlanta, zip code 30314.
It is the zip code the King family lived in when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, and it is home to the largest consortium of historically Black colleges and universities in the country.
Dr. Brian Tillman, pastor at Central United Methodist Church, says he wants everyone to have equal access to the ballot box, even when it comes to early voting.
"It's about what this community needs in order for people to exercise their right to vote," Tillman said.
Tillman believes that right is being threatened for the thousands of students who attend the Atlanta University Center and thousands more who rely on mass transit and live in zip code 30314.
"I did not find a location that I felt was convenient, especially for those who are seniors and those who rely on mass transit, and so, to be more clear about that, I plotted those addresses inside of a Google maps, so I could see where they were visually, and I noticed that west of downtown, north of interstate 20, there was no convenient voting location," the senior pastor said.
Tillman says he also realized a neighborhood on the north side didn’t have that problem.
"To have no locations in this area and three locations in Buckhead, really infuriated me," Tillman said.
Dr. Brian Tillman, pastor at Central United Methodist Church in Atlanta.
The downtown pastor is focused on solutions and is now offering his church as an early voting site, but he is not the only one concerned. Atlanta City Councilman Michael Julian Bond grew up and still votes in 30314.
"It's very disturbing to me because I've heard that the elections board has been pressuring the staff to cut back on locations due to cost. It also has a chilling effect on voter turnout," Bond said.
Fulton County Chairman Robb Pittssays his elections board has done a good job and has 35 early voting sites and 8 Outreach sites, including one in 30314, with fewer days and hours.
"We have 43 early voting locations, but it may be possible that there is not one in the zip code that he is talking about. I know the church and the congregation. We will take a look at what he is talking about," Pitts said.
Pitts says the county's goal is to make voting easy and accessible.