An ongoing petition drive to halt the construction of a police and firefighter training center is "futile" and "invalid," attorneys for the city of Atlanta argued in a court filing Monday, as they sought to prevent the proposed referendum from appearing on November's ballot.

For the past month, activists with the "Stop Cop City" movement have been trying to gather the signatures of more than 70,000 registered Atlanta voters by Aug. 15 to force a referendum. It would allow voters to decide the fate of the project that has seen significant pushback and become a flashpoint in the national debate over policing.