NAACP violates same law, only Wright jailed

Staff Reports

AMERICUS — Local NAACP leader Matt Wright Jr. said he hopes his upcoming trial for standing too close to the voting polls with campaign signs will bring attention to the discrimination black candidates have faced in Sumter County.

He said he looks forward to bringing all the players into court that were behind his arrest and that of another black candidate, but allowed Sumter County Commissioner Randy Howard to escape the same charge for breaking the same law twice.

“I was just exercising that same right that they gave Howard,” said Wright, president of the Americus-Sumter National Association for the Advancement of Colored People [NAACP].

On Election Day at the doors of the Sumter County Agricultural Building, Wright was holding campaign signs for then presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain — allegedly violating a Georgia’s law by campaigning within 150 feet of a polling place.

An article in the Americus-Times Recorder conveniently omitted any mention of the McCain sign from a recent article on his arrest.

“I didn’t want to show partisanship for either candidate,” said Wright. “I was just standing up for my rights.”

What Wright is referring to is a 2006 situation where Wright and Howard were running for Sumter County commissioner. According to the NAACP, Howard had gone to the polls to vote when he began to complain to a polling manager that a voter with Matt Wright signs on his truck was encouraging people to vote for his opponent because the vehicle was within 150 feet of the polling place.

The voter removed the signs as asked by the official, but Howard remained on the premises in violation of the same rule he was complaining about.

Wright said he actually videotaped Howard conversing with the polling supervisor for 16 minutes and 42 seconds, which was a direct violation of how long a candidate could stay at the polls.

Wright said a complaint was filed with the Secretary of State’s office regarding the matter but he was told Howard was holding a conversation that made his 16 minutes and 42 seconds of conversation legit.

“Their explanation didn’t hold water,” Wright said. “So I wanted my 16 minutes and 42 seconds too.”

Wright said the same thing has occurred with the campaign of Vernon Jones, the elected CEO of DeKalb County and a recent Democratic primary candidate for U.S. Senate.

Wright said it was more than a coincidence that two blacks were charged with violating the law, but not Randy Howard who is white.

“They (whites in control) have been manipulating the system for years,” he said. “Now I can actually bring them to court.”

According to a Sumter County Sheriff’s Office report, a complaint was filed by the county’s supervisor of elections, Sherry Wise Ratliff on Nov. 4^th,, Wright was in violation of OCGA 21-2-414. He was ordered to remove the signs from the polling place. After refusing, Wright was arrested without incident.

“I just put my arms behind my back and was handcuffed, Wright said.

He was released on $1,000 bail.

Ironically, when Wright was elected president of the local NAACP last year, he was promoted as a more subtle and less controversial leader than that of outgoing president Dr. John Marshall. Wright said it was his first time in jail. “When the bars shut and went ‘clank,’ it kind of hit me. His arraignment is slated for Dec. 10^th where he is expected to enter a plea.