SPECIAL ELECTIONS: 1.8 million residents are bound to pay $2.4 billion in penny sales taxes. Who decided? Fewer than 30,000 voters: LOW TURNOUT HIGH IMPACT
Critics say important votes should be held on typical election days rather than off-cycles

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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/30/07

Last month, school officials celebrated after voters overwhelmingly approved 1-cent sales tax extensions in Fulton, DeKalb and Henry counties.

What officials spent less time publicizing was how few residents actually endorsed the proposals to use sales taxes to upgrade school systems in the three counties, including those in the cities of Atlanta and Decatur.

The truth: Fewer than 30,000 voters approved new levies that will cost taxpayers a combined $2.4 billion over five years. They committed nearly 1.8 million people who live in the three counties -- plus those who shop there -- to more taxes.

In all, about 2 percent of those counties' residents and 3 percent of their registered voters showed up at special elections to decide on extending the special purpose local option sales taxes.

Turnout was so low that several precincts in Fulton County were open for 12 hours without a single voter showing up. Dozens of other precincts counted fewer than 10 voters.

The cost to taxpayers of holding this low-show election? In Fulton alone, election supervisors said they spent just under $1 million for the March special election.

Since the beginning of 2005, local governments in Georgia have put nearly 200 tax proposals before voters, hoping to raise more than $11.5 billion. Two-thirds have come in similar "off-cycle" elections, with little or nothing else on the ballot. Only six of the 200 failed.

Some state lawmakers have noticed the trend. Senate Majority Leader Tommie Williams (R-Lyons) introduced a bill this year to require that referendums be held during primary or general elections. It didn't pass the Legislature, which ended its session this month.

John Sherman, a Fulton County tax activist and watchdog, said local officials' actions are shameful.

"This is a very nasty situation," said Sherman. "These votes should be held in November when people come out to vote."

Julia Bernath, chairwoman of the Fulton school board, blames voter apathy.

"People just don't take seriously enough the right to go to the polls," said Bernath, whose county will get up to $893.2 million in new sales taxes to build new schools and upgrade existing ones. "[But] to have a positive vote, even if it is 50 percent plus 1, is beneficial for the school system."

Last year in Cobb County, supporters of a special tax for road projects openly talked about a stealth campaign they would pitch only to voters likely to support it.

Bernath said that wasn't the plan this time.

The boards in DeKalb, Fulton and Atlanta couldn't agree before the general election. So, they called the special election to keep the tax from lapsing, she said.

Fulton resident Bob Wilson lives in a part of Sandy Springs where his voting precinct of 2,200 didn't draw a single voter on election day. He said he didn't even know there was a referendum.

"Obviously, I'm not happy about it," Wilson said. "You get these special elections, and they are only for special people. It's easy if no one votes."

Williams' Senate Bill 71, aimed at changing the way special elections are scheduled, passed the Senate but stalled in the House on the final day.

"We've got to pass this," said Williams, who plans to push his proposal again. "It's taxation without representation if you plan an election where no one is going to show up to vote. If you've done right in the past, you'll get your vote any day."

Rep. Fran Millar (R-Dunwoody), vice chairman of the House Education Committee, said sales tax referendums should be held when voting is more likely.

"Something of this magnitude should be done on the general election or the primary," Millar said.

Whether it was intentional or not, the results were unmistakable.

In Henry, a third of the 38 precincts saw fewer than 100 voters. In DeKalb, there were more than 40 precincts that didn't get 50 voters. Fulton had more than 60 precincts see single digits in turnout.

Andrion Bell, a south DeKalb resident who voted to extend the tax, said he was dismayed by the tiny turnout.

"A lot of it is lack of education at the county level for what this really means to people's pocket books," Bell said. "I wish we had a bigger vote. We just don't have a lot of folks who care."

MOST RECENT SCHOOL TAX VOTE

COUNTY ....YES.......NO....PERCENT..REGISTERED ..TURNOUT

....................................VOTERS

HENRY ....3,591....1,391....72% ....105,662........5%

DEKALB ..13,409....5,840....70% ....357,101........5%

FULTON ..12,361....3,052....80% ....469,976........3%

TOTAL....29,361 ..10,283....74% ....932,739........4%

RESULTS OF RECENT REFERENDUMS SINCE 2005

DATE: March 20, 2007

TYPE OF ELECTION: Special

AMOUNT: $3.2 billion

NUMBER OF COMMUNITIES VOTING: 33

RESULTS: 1 loss (school in Twiggs County)

DATE: Nov. 7, 2006

TYPE OF ELECTION: General

AMOUNT: $2 billion

NUMBER OF COMMUNITIES VOTING: 15

RESULTS: All passed

DATE: Sept 19, 2006

TYPE OF ELECTION: Special

AMOUNT: $1.6 billion

NUMBER OF COMMUNITIES VOTING: 24

RESULTS: All passed

DATE: July 18, 2006

TYPE OF ELECTION: Primary

AMOUNT: $556 million

NUMBER OF COMMUNITIES VOTING: 13

RESULTS: All passed

DATE: March 21, 2006

TYPE OF ELECTION: Special

AMOUNT: $1.08 billion

NUMBER OF COMMUNITIES VOTING: 33

RESULTS: All passed

DATE: Nov. 8, 2005

TYPE OF ELECTION: General

AMOUNT: $561 million

NUMBER OF COMMUNITIES VOTING: 22

RESULTS: 1 loss (Whitfield, general purpose)

DATE: Sept. 20, 2005

TYPE OF ELECTION: Special

AMOUNT: $1.6 billion

NUMBER OF COMMUNITIES VOTING: 26

RESULTS: All passed

DATE: June 21, 2005

TYPE OF ELECTION: Primary

AMOUNT: $405 million

NUMBER OF COMMUNITIES VOTING: 10

RESULTS: 1 loss (Floyd misc.)

DATE: March 15, 2005

TYPE OF ELECTION: Special

AMOUNT: $511 million

NUMBER OF COMMUNITIES VOTING: 18

RESULTS: 2 losses (Wayne schools, Thomas misc.)

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