| On July 25, 2017, the City of South Fulton became the first in the South to make Election Day a holiday. This historic vote by South Fulton’s City Council was overturned by Mayor William “Bill” Edwards, in a veto he issued the very next day.
During debate over the issue, Mayor Edwards worried the initiative was “a good idea, but just not the right time. A minority of other Councilmembers raised concerns over the city Calendar not being in sync with Fulton Schools, and data showing a trend towards Early Voting, with less people voting on Election Day.
khalid argued the data suggest that Early Voting simply spreads the same voters who would normally vote on Election Day over several more days, and may ultimately decrease the voting of others who get Early Voting days confused.
“The intent of the Holiday is to cultivate new voters by creating a Day of Political Education, similar to the MLK Day of Service, which encourages a ‘culture’ of voting.” khalid explained. “Many people don’t realize that now every year is an election year in South Fulton. We have state and congressional races every even year, and City Council races every odd year.” |
