Photo Credit: Blake Aued

The Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections will consider holding early voting on a Sunday next month, according to Clarke County Democratic Committee Chairman Joe Wisenbaker.

DeKalb County kicked off the Sunday voting trend last week, scheduling early voting on Sundays in an effort to draw "souls to the polls"—African American churches busing their mostly Democratic congregants to voting booths. Since then, Fulton and Lowndes counties—both rich sources of Democratic votes—have followed suit. 

Republicans have called the move "blatantly partisan" and vowed to put an end to Sunday voting during next year's legislative session. It's part of a larger battle in which Democrats are trying to register and turn out more voters, while the GOP is trying to block them.

The ACC Board of Elections will consider Sunday voting at its Tuesday, Oct. 7 meeting. The board is made up of one Republican appointee, one Democratic appointee and three nonpartisan ACC Commission appointees. They are:

Jean Blackston, [email protected]

Charles Knapper, [email protected]

E. Walter Wilson, [email protected]

Michele Simpson, [email protected]

Alison McCullick, [email protected]

Early voting at the Board of Elections (155 E. Washington St.) runs weekdays from Monday, Oct. 13 through Friday, Oct. 31 and includes one Saturday when polls are open, Oct. 25. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4.

The deadline to register to vote is Monday, Oct. 6.