Black church tradition survives Georgia’s voting changes

By SUDHIN THANAWALA and GARY FIELDS

ATLANTA (AP) — Black church leaders in Georgia have organized rallies in a push to get their congregants to vote — part of a longstanding tradition known as “souls to the polls.” The effort is taking on even greater meaning this year after state lawmakers nearly did away with Sunday voting. This Sunday’s “souls to the polls” events included a caravan organized by church leaders and civil rights groups to take congregants from Rainbow Park Baptist Church in the Atlanta area to a mall where they could vote early. Although Sunday voting remains intact, lawmakers last year approved other voting restrictions that created new obstacles to casting a ballot in this year’s midterm elections.