ATLANTA — 58,232 signatures.
That’s how many valid signatures are needed in a petition to put the fate of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center up to voters.
The facility has been the target of protests since being announced.
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Last week, the group behind the petition told the media they had more than 100,000 signatures but canceled a scheduled news conference on Monday.
On Wednesday, a third-party group that will help review the petition laid out their plan to verify the signatures.
“There will be multiple sets of eyes on every line, on every phase of this review process,” Richard Bartolomei, a consultant with experience in ballot initiatives told Channel 2′s Michael Doudna.
When the city gets the petition, the city will first begin making sure those listed live in Atlanta.
“Certainly, there are several people in the greater Atlanta area that feel deeply connected to the city. Doesn’t mean they are going to vote there, doesn’t mean they can, and doesn’t mean their petition signature will count to this threshold,” Bartolomei said.
The initial review will also look for fake names and addresses that would not count.
“I’m certain we will get some Joe Biden and Donald Trumps and celebrities of all types,” Bartolomei said.
After the initial check, reviewers will begin to see if the signature on the petition is close to the one on file.
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The city representatives say the signatures do not need to be an exact match and that they will “err on the side of franchisement.”
If a signature seems suspicious or is illegible, the city will attempt to contact the person to verify the signature.
It is unclear how long the process will take.
Groups who oppose the training facility and are behind the petition did not respond to requests to comment.
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