Atlanta voters split on ‘Cop City’ training facility, poll finds
- The proposed police training facility was approved by elected officials
- Activists want there to be a referendum for voters to decide the outcome
- New poll finds voters want a referendum but are split on the facility
Activist Hannah Riley works on her laptop at Muchacho, a local taco restaurant, while gathering signatures from fellow voters, in Atlanta, Thursday, July 13, 2023. Organizers are trying to force a referendum that would allow voters to decide the fate of a proposed police and training center, but attorneys for the city say the petition drive is invalid. (AP Photo/R.J. Rico)
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(NewsNation) — A new poll commissioned by opponents of Atlanta’s proposed police and firefighter training facility — dubbed “Cop City” by opponents of the project — finds Atlanta’s voters are split over how they would vote in a proposed referendum.
Opponents of the project have worked for months to place a referendum on voters’ ballots to allow them to have a say over whether the proposed facility is built.
Those opponents teamed up with the progressive polling firm Data for Progress to survey voters about how they would vote in the proposed referendum.
The survey found that 43% of voters would vote in a referendum to stop the facility, while 38% would vote to keep it. A further 18% said they don’t know how they would vote.
One area where voters found more consensus was whether there should be a referendum at all. While 59% percent backed holding a referendum, 33% said the decision should be made by the city’s elected officials.
A poll released last month by a firm with ties to Atlanta’s mayor, who supports the project, found that most Georgians statewide propose building the facility — but it did not poll Atlanta’s voters in particular.
The project has been protested by activists nationwide, and there have also been acts of property destruction and arson around it that have culminated in a controversial RICO case from the state. Earlier this year, one activist shot a local police officer and was killed when police returned fire.
