Protesters attempt to fire a Georgia state representative from cities and counties that pay him to act as their lawyer
April 13, 2021, 5:05 p.m.
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WASHINGTON, Georgia – Protesters attempt to dismiss a Georgia state representative from cities and counties who pay him as their attorney, citing his role in enforcing a voting law that adds restrictions.
Washington City Council voted 4-2 to call on MP Barry Fleming to step down on Monday, WJBF-TV reports. It’s not clear if the city can fire the Republican out of Harlem immediately because Washington has a deal with Fleming’s law firm.
“We want to make sure every vote counts and we want to make sure every person is heard,” said Kimberly Rainey, leader of the Wilkes County Democratic Party, among protesters calling for Fleming’s resignation. “Such bills are voter suppression way of saying it, and it hurts people who are already disenfranchised.”
Fleming previously resigned as an attorney for Hancock County after he was targeted by protesters there for his work on the major Georgia vote overhaul. Fleming chaired the House Electoral Integrity Committee and proposed the final form of Senate Law 202, which Governor Brian Kemp signed hours after the Senate approved House changes.
Opponents say the bill will restrict choices for Democrats and minorities. It requires proof of identity to apply for a postal vote, shortens the number of days to apply for an election, shortens early voting before runoff elections, uses fewer mailboxes than allowed under emergency rules during the pandemic, allows the state to use local electoral offices to take over and prevent people from distributing food and water to voters who are in line within 45 meters of a polling station.
Proponents say the bill was advocated by Republican voters, who are alarmed by former President Donald Trump’s fraud allegations, making postal voting safer, providing a permanent legal base for mailboxes, and increasing the number of mandatory pre-election days on weekends.
Fleming denies trying to prevent anyone from voting, saying he believes the law will stand up to several lawsuits filed to set it aside.
Georgia has faced a backlash since Governor Kemp signed the law, with Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola Co. criticizing it and Major League Baseball ripping their all-star game out of Atlanta Braves Stadium in Cobb County. Kemp and many other Republicans have counter-attacked, claiming that big corporations hurt minorities they care about.
Fleming’s district includes parts of Columbia and McDuffie counties, but does not include Washington. He also serves as the city attorney for Harlem, Lincolnnton, and Greensboro, and is the district attorney for Burke, Putnam, and Glascock Counties. A similar protest was scheduled for Tuesday in Burke County.
The Nation reports that Hancock County and Washington have paid Fleming’s law firm $ 382,000 over the past three years.
Fleming defended an attempt to clear the electoral rolls in the Hancock County seat of Sparta in 2015. He also wrote an opinion piece in the Augusta Chronicle last November calling postal ballots “always suspicious” and referring to them as “the shady part of town near the docks that you don’t want to wander into because there is a chance it will Shanghai is important. “
