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Newton County Voters Education Project seeks to educate about voter's role in government
Harold Cobb
From left, Voters Education Project officers are Roger Smith, the Rev. Harold Cobb, Chester Benton and Marcus Jordan. Now shown are Lillie Aikens and Yasmine Bailey. (Special | Harold Cobb)

COVINGTON, Ga. — A new organization is seeking to update the work of the old Newton County Voters League by adding an education component to help county residents learn about the importance of casting a ballot, an organizer said.

The Newton County Voters Education Project is seeking to increase voter turnout by informing residents about the need to educate themselves about the local, state and federal election system and the role voters play in it.

The Rev. Harold Cobb, president of the organization, said the Newton County Voters Education Project "will work tirelessly to strengthen Newton County's voter participation through community outreach and education."

Cobb said the new organization will operate in the same way as the Voters League but with voter education "being the cornerstone."

He said the "most important socioeconomic factor affecting voter turnout is education."

"The more educated a person is, the more likely they are to vote," Cobb said. 

"We need to make sure that all citizens are informed and participate," he said. "The preservation and integrity of our elections is paramount."

Officers of the new group include Cobb, Roger Smith, Chester Benton, Marcus Jordan, Lillie Aikens and Yasmine Bailey.

A Covington native, Cobb nsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Covington City Council five times during an era when all council members were elected at-large rather than from individual districts.

He then helped organize the first Newton County Voters League with Janie Henderson Giles in the mid-1960s and it "made significant progress in registering Newton County citizens," Cobb said. 

The Voters League was instrumental in convincing the city and county governing bodies to divide themselves into districts in the early 1970s. Cobb won election to the Newton County Board of Commissioners in 1976 and served 18 years until 1994.

For more information about the new group, call 770-256-5737 or email haroldcobb15@comcast.net.