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Published Sunday, February 12, 2012 in Local
Special
Shown above is a sample SPLOST ballot. Voting begins Monday.
Early voting for March 6 primary starts Monday, includes SPLOST
The Newnan Times-Herald
In-person early voting for the March 6 primary begins Monday.
Early voting takes place at the Coweta Voter Registration Office, located in the Coweta County Administration Building at 22 East Broad St. in downtown Newnan. All registered voters are eligible for early voting.
Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The office will also be open two Saturdays for early voting. Hours will be 9 a.m. to noon on Feb. 18, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Feb. 25. Early voting ends on March 2.
The election is for Georgia's presidential preference primary. The renewal of Coweta County's one percent Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax is also on the ballot.
Additionally, voters in the towns of Sharpsburg and Haralson will decide whether stores can sell alcohol on Sundays.
Because Georgia's primaries are open, everyone can vote in the Republican presidential primary regardless of party affiliation.
There is also a Democratic presidential primary, but Barack Obama is the only person on the ballot.
Voters can also choose a nonpartisan ballot if they prefer, which will only contain the SPLOST extension and the alcohol questions for residents of those towns.
March 6 is considered "Super Tuesday" because so many states will be holding their Republican presidential primary on that date.
The other states voting on March 6 are Alaska, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont, and Virginia.
Of those states, Georgia has the most delegates up for grabs.
A total of 437 delegates, 20 percent of the total delegate count, will be determined on Super Tuesday.
Last year, the Georgia General Assembly passed a law giving the secretary of state the ability to set the date for the presidential primary.
Secretary of State Brian Kemp chose Super Tuesday because he said it would "protect the interests of Georgians."
The Republican National Committee didn't want any states other than Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina holding presidential contests before March 6. The RNC has said that states that buck the rules will lose half their delegates.
"I want to stress that we have committed in good faith to abiding by the rules set forth by the Republican National Committee so Georgia will not suffer a loss of delegates," Kemp said in September, when he announced the election date.
It's also hoped that the election date will make Georgia more relevant -- and more attractive to candidates.
Another rule set down by the RNC is that delegates in any primary that is held before April must be awarded proportionally. That means candidates will be awarded convention delegates depending upon their percentages of the total vote. Traditionally, Georgia has been a winner-take-all state, with all of the state's delegates going to whoever wins the primary.
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I am voting no for SPLOST!!!!!!
Posted by Newnan resident at 11:17 AM
I will VOTE No the first round and watch the current projects that are being built. (i.e. conference center) If it quickly becomes a "money pit", then I will continue to vote NO on SPLOST. I'm afraid there is a government disconnect between projects that are needed, such as roads/bridges, and projects that are SPLURGE projects. Note - If SPLOST does not pass on round 1, then a second vote will be offerred. No need to hurry and vote in SPLOST on the first round.
Posted by derf at 11:04 AM
Just who benefits from early voting? It is my opinion that voting early is not a good idea. What happens if you vote a particular way and then find out that there was some information on the candidate or issue of which you weren't aware. Your vote is wasted if you vote early.Why partisan ballots. What if I want to vote for someone of either party? I'm stuck having to choose either Dem or Rep but not a mixture from either party. I call that being disenfranchised not whether or not I have proper I.D.
Posted by coweta cur-mudgeon at 10:15 PM
What stats do you have that support that so many out-of-county folks use our roads. That 'fear' that your taxes will increase is the exact thing they wield to get this stuff passed. Their wish list is just that. If SPLOST doesn't pass then their wish list is moot. Why then the tax increase? Seek info beyond this paper and the local chamber.
Posted by Regular Reader at 6:40 PM
You're right, cdog. We are going to need pavement, roads, intersections, bridges, law enforcement and fire equipment, etc. I'd rather do that through a sales tax than higher property taxes.
I'm pretty much good with the county's list and the city projects. I'm voting for it.
Posted by tc at 6:04 PM
Anyone that votes to increase tax in a stagnated ecomony is a fool.
Posted by Nancy at 5:51 PM
Our Taxes have to come from someone. If not from SPLOST, then higher property taxes. It makes Sense to Vote "YES" for
SPLOST. If YOU want to pay MORE Taxes then vote against SPLOST - it's your choice.
Posted by ED R at 5:30 PM
Do you seriously believe this county won't raise your taxes if the SPLOST fails? Personally Id rather sales taxes be used to raise funds because alot of out of town folks use our county roads and parks. So why shouldn't they pitch in a few pennies to? I don't want my property tax to go up and that is what will happen I gurantee it.
Posted by cdog at 4:51 PM
Unless you can afford to pay MORE in taxes, vote NO to SPLOST, in spite of this paper's endorsement of every SPLOST vote ever. For counterpoints to the Newnan Coweta Chamber's pro-SPLOST propaganda, visit the Coweta TEA Party's Facebook page. Thank goodness the OTHER side of SPLOST can be found if you know where to look. It's certainly not here.
Posted by Regular Reader at 2:11 PM
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Vote early
2/17/2012
Link To This Comment
I will be voting early- I have to go out of town on business. MY opinions and choices will not change in 2 weeks or less, trust me. I know what I need to know to make informed decisions. To say that early voting doesn't help anyone, it's insane. It helps ME.
Posted by Holly at 1:48 PM