georgia and south carolina. because there is no jobs in lincolnton or lincoln county, georgia. so by the time they make it back to this county to vote they can get to their local polls, but to drive an additional 12, 15 miles, just to vote in one precinct in the city of lincolnton is just, it s unreal. it s unfair. it s not right. we spoke with the board of elections today. they believe this petition wasn t necessary. they said they held public hearings on the issue and september letters to every household and didn t hear opposition. democrats involved in closing down these polling places. what do you make of that response from them? well, the first thing, they did not send notification to every voter in the county. what they did was send letters to every property owner in the
but, to drive one additional 12:15 miles just a vote in one precinct, in the city of lincoln ten, it is just unreal. it s an fear. it s not right. we spoke with the board of elections today, they believe this petition wasn t necessary. they said they held public hearings on it. they sent letters every household, and didn t hear opposition. it s on a partisan issue. there are democrats involved in closing down these polling places. what do you make of these responses? the first thing, they did not send notification to every voter in the county. what they did was send letters to every property owner in the county. we have people that own property in several other states across the united states. i myself did not get a letter. i have talked to many, many citizens of this county, black, white, republican, democrat,
court decision, shall be v, holder in 2013. that s when the supreme court gutted the 1688 places close. before that, georgia was one in nine states that was not allowed to changes election laws, in ways that would negatively impact minority voters ability to cast a ballot without federal approval. in georgia specifically, 10% of all polling locations have been closed across the state, since that supreme court decision. just last year, past major new restrictive voting laws that made it harder to vote absentee, or would drop boxes. making physical polling places all the more important. which is part of why, with this group data so interested. they fought back in a way that worked. legally, in georgia, if you can get 20% of the registered voters in a voting district to sign a petition opposing the closing of a polling place, a must stay open. this group of activists
group did is so interesting. they fought back in a way that worked. legally in georgia, if you can get 20% of the registered voters in a voting district to sign a petition opposing the closing of a polling place, it must stay opened. this group of activists gathered enough signatures to meet that threshold for three of lincoln counties seven polling places. the board of elections is still verifying those signatures. as for now, they have successfully delayed the vote on this issue and may very well have saved them from being consolidated. joining us now is the reverend denise freeman, a lincoln county activist, a key leader in the 60 drive that succeeded in putting the plan to roll back the number of polling sites on hold. reverend, thank you so much for being here. can you help us understand logistically, practically, what it would mean for the residents of lincoln county to go from seven polling places to one. describe that challenge for us, please. reporter: we are a very long
he went to the motorway. he was checking if it s safe and he was letting people in the cars behind know that it s safe and then they can cross. when we were leaving, this time my son was driving the car and he told us to sit low so we can t be seen in the car. so you were taking what precautions you could. thankfully, on the second attempt that wasn t necessary, but then you arrived in the uk. to be with your daughter, 0lga, tatyana tell us, how long did it take you then to to get out of ukraine