The effort to let voters decide the fate of Atlanta’s Public Safety Training Center appeared to be in trouble a month ago. 

But thanks to key victories in court and a massive signature collection push, the “Stop Cop City” organizers are more confident that they will successfully meet the Aug. 21 deadline for submitting the requisite 70,000 signatures to their petition for a ballot referendum.  If they do, the question will be put to voters on whether to reject the city of Atlanta’s $90 million police and fire academy.

Construction has already begun on 85 acres of city-owned land in the South River Forest in unincorporated DeKalb County.  The referendum would allow Atlanta residents to vote “yes” or “no” to repeal the Atlanta City Council’s ordinance that authorizes leasing the property to the Atlanta Police Foundation.

“I think it’s a 50/50 chance,” said Kamau Franklin, the founder of Community Movement Builders and a “Stop Copy City” organizer. ”As long as the courts stay true to a democratic process and follow the law themselves, then it should be on the ballot. But I’m not overly confident that will be the case. The city will continue in its efforts to knock off this petition before the people even get a chance to vote.”

What happened?

Atlanta’s city clerk approved the petition on June 21. By mid-July, the Vote to Stop Cop City coalition was struggling to stay on pace with the massive task of gathering enough signatures to successfully petition the city of Atlanta for a referendum. Getting 70,000 registered voters to sign by the 60-day deadline specified in the Georgia constitution meant collecting nearly 10,000 signatures a week. 

It was a tall order – made more difficult by restrictions that limited who could sign the petition (Atlanta voters registered as of 2021) and who could collect signatures (registered Atlanta voters only). What’s more,…