Super Tuesday: Make Your Vote Count

Super Tuesday, with its 400-plus delegates up for grabs in 10 states, has finally arrived as Midtown voters go to the polls today for the Georgia presidential primary and to decide whether to extend the municipal option sales tax for four years.

In the Georgia GOP presidential primary, voters will decide on awarding delegates to candidates Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum or Ron Paul. President Barack Obama is the only name that appears on the ballot of the Democratic party.

Georgia is the state with the most delegates - 76 - of the 10 states holding primaries or caucuses on Super Tuesday.

Atlantans will also be voting whether to renew a 1-percent Municipal Option Sales Tax (MOST) to allow visitors and businesspeople who use the city’s water and sewer infrastructure, but do not pay city water/sewer bills, to help pay for upgrading and maintenance of the infrastructure. According to city officials, the tax would raise between $400 million and $440 million by 2016, and would help keep Atlanta’s in-city tax rate at its current level of 8 percent, which is already among the nation’s highest combined rates.

The tax was originally approved by Atlanta voters in 2004 and has been renewed once since. The city estimates that the water/sewer rates would need to increase by 25- to 30-percent without the sales tax.

District 6 Councilman Alex Wan reminded residents to be aware of the coming vote at last month’s Neighborhood Planning Unit-E meeting.

“If this doesn’t pass - and I can’t campaign one way or another, but I can give information – but if it doesn’t pass there’s going to be a $115 million deficit with the (Atlanta Department of) Watershed Management budget,'' he said. "Just be aware of the issues and make sure to go out and vote."

For information, see the Department of Watershed Management's website.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp's My Voter Page contains voting information, including sample ballots and finding one's precinct location.

Georgia law (O.C.G.A § 21-2-417) requires Georgia residents to show photo identification when voting in person.

Presidential primary election results will be displayed on the secretary of state’s website for each county and U.S. congressional district (sos.ga.gov). Additionally, updates will be posted periodically via Twitter (@GASOSKemp) and Facebook (GASOSKemp).
 
The Stop Voter Fraud website allows Georgians to report questionable election activity online or via the Stop Voter Fraud hotline. Citizens who witness questionable election-related activity can submit a stop voter-fraud form, or call the secretary of state’s voter fraud hotline at 877-725-9797. Georgia voters can access the stop voter-fraud website at sos.ga.gov.

Here is the link for a sample ballot in the MOST election.

Here is the link for the sample ballot in the GOP presidential primary.

Here is the link for the sample ballot for the Democratic presidential primary.