City attorneys say the Atlanta City Council cannot create its own ballot question about the public safety training center, according to a source at the council. “Law Department says they don’t have the authority to put it on the ballot,” said the source, adding the detailed opinion is still being reviewed inside the council. An […]
Tag: Vote to Stop Cop City
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City Council member may seek to put training center on the ballot, break referendum stalemate
An Atlanta City Council member may introduce a resolution to put the public safety training center on the ballot, pending City attorneys’ advice — a move that could cut through a legal stalemate over the “Vote to Stop Cop City” effort. District 5 City Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari is “considering introducing legislation on Monday” to put […]
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Judge denies request to force ‘Cop City’ referendum signature-counting, questions City’s ‘honesty’
A federal judge has denied an emergency request from the “Vote to Stop Cop City” effort to force the counting of signatures — while also criticizing the City as dishonest in its conflicting legal arguments. U.S. District Judge Mark H. Cohen’s Sept. 13 denial order said the referendum effort is in legal confusion primarily because […]
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‘Vote to Stop Cop City’ hits stalemate over petition deadline while protesters announce direct action
After submitting what it says is over 116,000 signatures, the “Vote to Stop Cop City” effort is locked in a legal stalemate over interpretation of a petition-submission deadline. Meanwhile, some Atlanta City Council members say they will push to get it on the ballot – and protesters say they will march on the public safety […]
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Environmentalists ask judge to halt all training center construction as pollution claims play out
Environmentalists suing Atlanta’s public safety training center planners over alleged pollution are asking a judge to halt all construction and order the site to be completely replanted while the case is pending. The Aug. 23 request was part of a flurry of activity this week in three separate lawsuits attempting to halt the project, dubbed […]
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‘Cop City’ referendum leaders claim voter suppression as training center speeds toward construction start
The “Vote to Stop Cop City” referendum’s possible ballot appearance is likely delayed until March amid a signature-verification process complaint while the public safety training center it targets is steaming ahead to a full construction start this month. Timing is everything in this unprecedented struggle and part of the clashing strategies. Referendum organizers originally intended to get their training-center-killing […]
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‘Vote to Stop Cop City’ gets another 60 days, more signature-gatherers in major court victory
In a major court victory, the “Vote to Stop Cop City” referendum effort will get at least 60 more days to gather signatures, which can now be done by nonresidents of Atlanta as a federal judge says the ban on their participation is likely unconstitutional. The July 27 preliminary injunction in the lawsuit Baker v. […]
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Both sides in ‘Vote to Stop Cop City’ lawsuit state their cases, tease bigger battles
With a federal judge poised to decide whether to extend the clock on the “Vote to Stop Cop City” referendum effort in a lawsuit over who can collect signatures for it, both sides have laid out their initial cases – and teased bigger battles about the vote’s validity that may well end up before the […]
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DeKalb activists sue for right to collect ‘Vote to Stop Cop City’ signatures, restart clock
Four DeKalb County activists have filed a federal lawsuit seeking the right to collect petition signatures for the “Vote to Stop Cop City” referendum – and restart the 60-day clock on the process. The referendum effort seeks to put the City of Atlanta’s lease of land to the private Atlanta Police Foundation for its controversial […]
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In ‘Vote to Stop Cop City,’ organizers build a democratic challenge to Atlanta’s backroom ways
The “Vote to Stop Cop City” referendum effort may or may not do just that. Either way, its organizers already see the campaign as an unprecedented, history-making challenge to the old “Atlanta Way” of backroom deal-making. The call for direct democracy is coming from a broad coalition of left-wing groups, some with a record of […]
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‘Stop Cop City’ referendum petition is approved by Municipal Clerk, attorney says
The Atlanta Municipal Clerk’s office has approved the petition authorizing signature collection for the “Vote to Stop Cop City” referendum effort. Interim Municipal Clerk A. Vanessa Waldon said in an email to an attorney for the referendum organizers, which she provided to SaportaReport, that the petition forms required for signature-gathering likely would be available to […]
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‘Stop Cop City’ referendum organizers gain APAB backing, seek court order on petition effort
“Vote to Stop Cop City,” the attempt to put Atlanta’s controversial public safety training center on the Nov. 7 ballot, has drawn support from an umbrella board of the City’s Neighborhood Planning Units. Meanwhile, organizers of the referendum effort have gone to court with allegations that the Atlanta Municipal Clerk’s office is stalling on approving […]
