Atlanta city officials are not processing signatures for a referendum petition regarding the construction of a police training facility, saying they were legally barred from processing the submitted signatures following a stay on a federal court injunction.
On Sep. 11, 2023, the Vote to Stop Cop City Coalition submitted more than 116,000 signatures in support of the referendum to repeal an ordinance that would authorize the leasing of 381 acres of forest land to the Atlanta Police Foundation. A portion of this land would be used for the construction of a $90 million police training facility, which opponents have called Cop City. The center would be used by the Atlanta Police Department and the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department for training purposes.
However, Atlanta city officials said that they were legally barred from processing the submitted signatures, saying that the organizers missed the Aug. 15 deadline. The deadline had previously been extended when a U.S. District Court judge ruled on July 27 that the city’s ban on signature gatherers who do not live in Atlanta is unconstitutional, and reset the signature-gathering period so that supporters had until Sep. 23 to circulate petitions. However, on Sep. 1, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the City of Atlanta, issuing a stay on the injunction that provided for signature gatherers who resided outside of Atlanta to gather signatures, pausing the enforcement of that order.
