The Lawyers for Atlanta want nonresidents to stop collecting signatures. This is part of the “Stop Cop City” effort to force a referendum on a police and fire training center.
Should the city win, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could sabotage the petition drive by ruling it illegal under state law. It can also decide that all of the 100,000-plus signatures collected are void. But only because none were available by the original 60-day deadline of August 21.
An analysis has found that even a ruling just narrowing which petitions are accepted could negatively affect the chances of opponents having enough signatures from eligible registered Atlanta voters to force a referendum.
Statistical sampling of 1,000 entries says opponents may reach 58,231 signatures by counting all entries. However, excluding signatures collected after August 21 or by people who weren’t Atlanta voters would disqualify 20% of potentially eligible entries. This would likely defeat the effort.
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The struggle over the $90 million training center is now national. Opponents say it will worsen police militarization and harm the environment. They believe the city’s fight against the referendum is anti-democratic. And that it dovetails with their concerns about a violent police response to protests and a prosecution on racketeering charges.
Supporters of the training center say the city has to replace outdated facilities. They claim that the center is essential for better training officers to avoid improper use of force. The town has not counted any signatures because the 11th Circuit Court proceedings left the referendum drive in limbo.
Robert Ashe argued for the city. He told a three-judge panel they should declare the petition effort void because it has no support from state law. And if that is not a viable option, Ashe asked the judges to prune the injunction granted by U.S. District Judge Mark Cohen that allows nonresidents to collect signatures and extended the 60-day deadline.
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Ashe believes that the city residents had enough time to collect signatures. “He did not need to extend the deadline for the city residents who had suffered no injury at all,” Ashe said.
However, Jeff Filipovits, a lawyer representing four people who lived outside the city and sued for the right to collect signatures, believes the original ruling is justified. Filipovits said the city can’t ask a court to dismiss the referendum now. He thinks it should have made those arguments before issuing petitions for the ballot issue.
He also told the judges that a state Supreme Court ruling banning such referendums is suspect following a recent case. And that there’s separate authority for referendums independent of state law under Atlanta’s city charter.
Keyanna Jones, one of the plaintiffs, formerly lived near the training center site. Just outside the Atlanta city limits in unincorporated DeKalb County. Last Thursday, she said collecting petitions was among the only ways neighbors outside the city could fight the project.
The city argues that nonresidents like Jones could ask people to sign while city residents who didn’t see the signatures could later certify them. “The City of Atlanta has not told anyone ‘You may not petition this government,'” Ashe told the judges.
However, judges questioned the claim, suggesting the plaintiff’s inability to participate denied First Amendment political speech rights. The petitions required the witness to swear that “I, a registered elector in the City of Atlanta, Georgia, have collected these signatures for this Petition within the City of Atlanta.”
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“How can that representation be made if the attestor wasn’t present?” Judge Elizabeth Branch demanded to know.
The arguments were made on the same morning that Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum announced a $200,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of arsonists who targeted police vehicles and construction sites in a campaign against the training center.
The arson attacks cost millions of dollars in damage. It forced police to redeploy officers to protect city property, contractors, and construction sites, according to Schierbaum. He believes the citizens will play critical roles in bringing the individuals setting these fires to justice.
Do you support the ‘Stop Cop City’ petition?
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