Activists furious Democratic leaders haven't denounced plan to check every ‘Stop Cop City’ signature

Georgia activists against a proposed police and firefighting training center have called on Democratic senators to denounce Atlanta’s plan to check every signature on a petition to put the issue to voters.

A “line-by-line review” would ensure the signatures match what officials have on file, said officials in the Democratic-led city, drawing praise from the head of the Georgia Republican Party, condemnation from voting rights groups, but silence from the state's Democratic senators, who for years have railed against GOP-imposed voter restrictions.

That silence has enraged “Stop Cop City” activists, who say they've collected more than 100,000 signatures. They warned Georgia's Democratic Party that it is turning its back on some of its most engaged members — people who knocked on doors to help Joe Biden narrowly win the battleground state in 2020 and will be asked to do the same thing next year.

“It's just been crickets,” said Amelia Weltner, a 34-year-old DeKalb County resident who has organized, canvassed and worked as a staffer for Democrats. “Since it's not Republicans doing the suppression, I guess it's not as high of a concern?"