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Deadline to register to vote
in the September 18th Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST)
will be Monday August 20.
The one cent sales tax (which
ended July 1, 2007), if approved by voters, could cost taxpayers over $200 million
over six years in taxes and over $80 million in interest and fees over the
life of the 12 year bond. Plus an increase in property taxes to cover the
remaining cost of the $120 million proposed prison facility and additional
operational and maintenance cost for decades to come.
According to Bob Akers, Douglas
County’s Elections Chief, absentee ballots
are not available at this time but expect to have them available sometime this
week. Akers said there have been several delays in approval of the ballot by
the Justice Department.
State law allows election official to have ballots ready “as
soon as practical” after approval by the U.S. Justice Department.
The Board of commissioners voted to make changes to the
SPLOST proposal as late as Monday August 13.
Akers said one issue of concern was that the ballot language
was so long it could not place on a single page requiring voters to navigate to
page two in order to read the ballot language. The law does not allow for a reduction
in font size in order to fit the text onto one page. Akers said he was
concerned voters could be confused by having to navigate to a second page in order
to vote.
When asked if the public would be notified when the absentee
ballots were available he responded “I doubt it”. He said he may have a notice placed
on the county’s web site.
James Bell, director of DCTC requested that a news release
be published with voting information so voters can be fully informed as to when
ballots were available.
From www.douglascountysentinel.com:
To register to vote in
Douglas County, there are three options.
The first option is to visit the Douglas County Voter Registration Office located on the first floor of the Douglas County Courthouse, 8700 Hospital Drive. The office is open on Monday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Another
option is visiting any public library in the state. According to Laurie Fulton,
the Douglas County chief registrar, libraries are sometimes open later than her office,
making it a good option for anyone who cannot make it to the courthouse before 5 p.m.
Finally, anyone can register to vote at the Secretary of State’s Web site
(www.sos.state.ga.us/elections). An application can be printed out and mailed
in to Secretary of State Karen Handel. All applications must be postmarked by
Monday (Midnight).
Anyone who is registering to vote in Georgia for the first time must send a copy of a
photo ID with an application if sent through the mail. An ID is not needed to
register in person at a library or the courthouse.
One of six forms of
identification will be needed on election day. Those forms of ID are a state
driver’s license, a state-issued ID card, a military ID, a photo ID issued by a
government board or authority, a tribal ID card or a voter ID card.
Voter ID cards are available through the Voter Registration Office and are only
issued to individuals who cannot obtain one of the other approved forms of ID.
Fulton said that proof of name, residence and date of birth are necessary to
apply for a voter ID card.
You can contact voter registration at:
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It's just a penny!
2007 Douglas County School Bond Election Results (Unofficial)