Georgia primary ballot questions deliver lopsided results

by
Cobb absentee ballot drop boxes
Republican voters want absentee ballot dropboxes eliminated, while Demcorats want their availability expanded.

The biggest winners in the Georgia primary elections on May 24—at least in terms of percentage of the vote—weren’t individual candidates or those fighting against Cityhood referendums in Cobb County.

The respective Republican and Democratic questions that appeared on partisan ballots were overwhelmingly lopsided, which isn’t a new trend.

The state parties assembled questions on topics familiar to their voting bases.

The results are used by the parties to shape messaging and to collect information, but this year they touched on a number of cultural and other hot-button topics.

Republicans were asked about border security, education spending, absentee ballot access and Buckhead cityhood in relation to crime concerns.

Regarding the latter, a proposed Buckhead cityhood bill was scotched by outgoing GOP Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and the bill had no local sponsors.

The ballot question that got the most one-sided response from Republican voters was transgender athletes, with 95 percent saying female-identified biological males should not be allowed to compete against girls in high school sports.

But the GOP-led Georgia legislature couldn’t pass a bill requiring high school athletes to compete with the sex of their birth.

Another bill passed this year gave that authority to the Georgia High School Association, the governing body for high school athletics. On May 4, the GHSA’s executive committee, by a 62-0 vote, changed its bylaws to bar transgender athletes from competing along gender identity lines.

Democratic voters were asked about student loan forgiveness, Medicare expansion, expanding voter registration access and parental leave.

Five of the nine questions had YES votes of 90 percent or more, including incentives for Georgia to promote the creation of renewable energy sources.

Only 80 percent said YES to a question if marijuana should be legalized and regulated, similar to alcohol, for consumers aged 21 and over, with tax revenues to fund education, health care and infrastructure.

You can view additional results by clicking here.

Republican Party Questions

1. The Biden administration has stopped building the border wall and illegal border crossings have dramatically increased. Should securing our border be a national priority?

  • YES: 93% statewide; 89% Cobb

2. Education is the largest line item in the state budget. Should education dollars follow the student to the school that best fits their need, whether it is public, private, magnet, charter, virtual or homeschool? 3. Florida has passed a law to stop social media platforms from influencing political campaigns by censoring candidates. Should Georgia pass such a law to protect free speech in political campaigns?

  • YES: 78% statewide and Cobb

3. Florida has passed a law to stop social media platforms from influencing political campaigns by censoring candidates. Should Georgia pass such a law to protect free speech in political campaigns?

  • YES: 83% statewide; 81% Cobb

4. Two of the three current federal work visa programs are lottery based. Should federal work visas instead be issued on job skill? 

  • YES: 86.6% statewide and Cobb; 

5. Biological males who identify as females have begun competing in female sports. Should schools in Georgia allow biological males to compete in female sports?

  • NO: 95% statewide; 95% Cobb; 

6. To prevent ballot tampering, state law prohibits political operatives from handling absentee ballots once they have been marked by the voter. To protect the integrity of our elections, should the enforcement of laws against ballot tampering be a priority?

  • YES: 95% statewide; 92.8% Cobb;

7. Absentee drop boxes are vulnerable to illegal ballot trafficking. Should absentee ballot drop boxes be eliminated?

  • YES: 85% statewide; 75% Cobb

8. Crime has dramatically increased throughout the country including in our capital city of Atlanta. Should the citizens of residential areas like the Buckhead community of Atlanta be allowed to vote to create their own city governments and police departments?

  • YES: 80% statewide; and Cobb

Democratic Party Questions

1. Should the United States remove obstacles to economic advancement by forgiving all student loan debt?

  • YES: 85% statwide; 81% Cobb;

2. Should all Georgians have access to paid parental leave following the birth or adoption of a child?

  • YES: 95%% statewide; 96% Cobb

3. Should every three- and four-year-old in Georgia be given the opportunity to attend a high-quality preschool free of charge?

  • YES 96% statewide; 95% Cobb

4. Should Georgia voters have the right to gather signed petitions to directly place questions on the ballot, whether to change the law or poll the public?

  • YES 87% statewide; 86% Cobb

5. Should families earning less than $150,000 per year receive an expanded tax credit to help cover the costs of raising children?

  • YES 88.8% statewide; 87.6% Cobb

6. Should the State of Georgia expand access to health care for over half a million Georgians by utilizing federal funds to expand Medicaid?

  • YES 96.9% statewide; 96.8% Cobb

7. Should the State of Georgia expand voter access by increasing early voting opportunities, allow same-day voter registration, removing obstacles to voting by mail, and installing secure ballot drop boxes, accessible at all times, through Election Day?

  • YES: 95% statewide; 97% Cobb

8. Should marijuana be legalized, taxed, and regulated in the same manner as alcohol for adults 21 years of age or older, with proceeds going towards education, infrastructure, and health care programs?

  • YES: 80% statewide; 84% Cobb

9. Should the State of Georgia incentivize the development of clean, renewable energy sources to support America’s energy independence?

  • YES: 96.9% statewide; 97.9% Cobb

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