FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Officials in Fayette County are fighting a judge's order to change their voting system.
County commissioners voted unanimously Thursday evening to appeal a May 21 ruling by U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten ordering the county to adopt a district-based voting system and do away with the at-large format.
The NAACP sued the county saying at-large voting in the county virtually guaranteed that no black candidates would ever be elected to the board of commissioners or the board of education. According to U.S. Census data, the county is about 70 percent white and 20 percent black. NAACP officials have said black candidates have not been able to get support from white voters regardless of their qualifications.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (http://bit.ly/115IkzX ) reports the county has spent about $300,000 fighting the NAACP lawsuit.
