Record turnout for early voting

About 36,000 Floyd County voters could be headed to the polls Tuesday to cast ballots in the 2016 election, which features a virtually tied gubernatorial race at the top of the ticket.

Locally, there are three contested races to decide.

All voters will have a choice in the Floyd County Commission Post 1 race between incumbent Republican Rhonda Wallace and Democratic challenger Stephanie Wright, and in the state Senate District 52 race between incumbent Chuck Hufstetler, a Republican, and Evan Ross, a Democrat.

The House District 13 seat, which covers all of Rome and much of the surrounding unincorporated area, also is on some ballots. The election is between incumbent Republican Katie Dempsey and Democrat John Burnette II.

The candidates answer questions about their priorities on pages A6 and A7 of today’s paper.

Three weeks of early in-person voting ended Friday with 14,779 people weighing in, Elections Board Chair Steve Miller said, calling it a record.

“This is an extraordinarily large election in regards to the turnout of advanced voters … This could also be a precursor to a long night on Tuesday, but we are as prepared as we could be and will be posting results as quickly as it is physically possible,” he said.

Including absentee ballots already mailed in, a total of 15,847 votes have been cast, according to GeorgiaVotes. com, which merges several reports from the secretary of state’s database. The county has 52,547 voters who registered by the deadline, which means 30 percent have already voted.

About 36 percent of the early voters did not vote in the 2014 midterms, according to the GeorgiaVotes program.

In addition to the local and state races, there are five proposed constitutional amendments and two ballot questions. Miller said lines will move faster if voters familiarize themselves with that part of the ballot before entering the polls.

Personalized sample ballots are available on the Georgia My Voter Page website. A ballot showing all the options for Tuesday is on

What everyone will see on their ballots:

For Governor (Vote for One)

Brian Kemp, Republican Stacey Abrams, Democrat Ted Metz, Libertarian Qualified write-ins: Tod Mack, Bobby Waldrep, Bobby Williams

For Lieutenant Governor (Vote for One)

Geoff Duncan, Republican Sarah Riggs Amico, Democrat

For Secretary of State (Vote for One)

Brad Raffensperger, Republican John Barrow, Democrat Smythe DuVal, Libertarian

For Attorney General (Vote for One)

Chris Carr, Republican (Incumbent) Charlie Bailey, Democrat

For Commissioner of Agriculture (Vote for One)

Gary Black, Republican (Incumbent)

Fred Swann, Democrat

For Commissioner of Insurance (Vote for One)

Jim Beck, Republican Janice Laws, Democrat Donnie Foster, Libertarian

For State School Superintendent (Vote for One)

Richard Woods, Republican (Incumbent)

Otha E. Thornton Jr., Democrat Qualified write-in: Sonia Francis-Rolle

For Commissioner of Labor (Vote for One)

Mark Butler (Incumbent), Republican

Richard Keatley, Democrat

For Public Service Commissioner District 3

(Vote for One)

Chuck Eaton, Republican (Incumbent)

Lindy Miller, Democrat Ryan Graham, Libertarian

For Public Service Commissioner District 5

(Vote for One)

Tricia Pridemore, Republican (Incumbent)

Dawn A. Randolph, Democrat John Turpish, Libertarian

For State Senator from District 52 (Vote for One)

Chuck Hufstetler, Republican (Incumbent)

Evan Ross, Democrat

For Floyd County Commission, Post 1

(Vote for One)

Rhonda Wallace, Republican (Incumbent) Stephanie Wright, Democrat

For Floyd County Commission, Post 4

(Vote for One)

Larry Maxey, Republican (Incumbent)

For Floyd County Commission, Post 5

(Vote for One)

Scotty Hancock, Republican (Incumbent)

For Coosa River Soil and Water Conservation District (Vote for One)

Jarrell R. Cagle (Incumbent)

ONLY COUNTY RESIDENTS WILL SEE:

For Floyd County School Board, District 1

Chip Hood, Republican (Incumbent)

For Floyd County School Board, District 4

Tony Daniel, Republican (Incumbent)

THOSE IN THE FOLLOWING DISTRICTS WILL SEE:

U.S. representative, District 14

Tom Graves, Republican (Incumbent)

Steven Lamar Foster, Democrat

State representative, District 12

Eddie Lumsden, Republican (Incumbent) State representative, District 13 Katie Dempsey, Republican (Incumbent)

John Burnette II, Democrat State representative, District 14 Christian Coomer Republican (Incumbent) PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS Creates the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund to protect water quality, wildlife habitat, and parks. House Resolution No. 238 Resolution Act No. 414

Ga. L. 2018, p. 1138 Without increasing the current state sales tax rate, shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to create the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund to conserve lands that protect drinking water sources and the water quality of rivers, lakes, and streams; to protect and conserve forests, fish, wildlife habitats, and state and local parks; and to provide opportunities for our children and families to play and enjoy the outdoors, by dedicating, subject to full public disclosure, up to 80 percent of the existing sales tax collected by sporting goods stores to such purposes without increasing the current state sales tax rate?”

Yes

No Creates a state-wide business court to lower costs, enhance efficiency, and promote predictable judicial outcomes. House Resolution 993 Resolution Act No. 410

Ga. L. 2018, p. 1130

Shall the Constitution o f Georgia be amended so as to create a state-wide business court, authorize superior court business court divisions, and allow for the appointment process for state-wide business court judges in order to lower costs, improve the efficiency of all courts, and promote predictability of judicial outcomes in certain complex business disputes for the benefit of all citizens of this state?”

Yes

No Encourages the conservation, sustainability, and longevity of Georgia’s working forests through tax subclassification and grants. House Resolution No. 51 Resolution Act No. 297

Ga. L. 2018, p. 1127

“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to revise provisions related to the subclassification for tax purposes of and the prescribed methodology for establishing the value of forestland conservation use property and related assistance grants, to provide that assistance grants related to forest land conservation use property may be increased by general law for a fiveyear period and that up to 5 percent of assistance grants may be deducted and retained by the state revenue commissioner to provide for certain state administrative costs, and to provide for the subclassification of qualified timberland property for ad valorem taxation purposes?”

Yes

No Provides and allows assertion of certain rights for victims of crime in the judicial process. Senate Resolution No. 146 Resolution Act No. 467

Ga. L. 2018, p. 1139

“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to provide certain rights to victims against whom a crime has allegedly been perpetrated and allow victims to assert such rights?” Yes

No Authorizes local referenda for educational sales taxes for certain school systems and distribution of proceeds. Senate Resolution No. 95 Resolution Act No. 278

Ga. L. 2017, p. 857

“Shall the Constitution o f Georgia be amended so as to authorize a referendum for a sales and use tax for education by a county school district or an independent school district or districts within the county having a majority of the students enrolled within the county and to provide that the proceeds are distributed on a per student basis among all the school systems unless an agreement is reached among such school systems for a different distribution?”

Yes

No PROPOSED STATEWIDE REFERENDA Provides for a homestead exemption for residents of certain municipal corporations. House Bill No. 820 Act No. 346

Ga. L. 2018, p. 235

“Do you approve a new homestead exemption in a municipal corporation that is located in more than one county, that levies a sales tax for the purposes of a metropolitan area system of public transportation, and that has within its boundaries an independent school system, from ad valorem taxes for municipal purposes in the amount of the difference between the current year assessed value of a home and the adjusted base year value, provided that the lowest base year value will be adjusted yearly by 2.6 percent?”

Yes

No Provides a tax exemption for certain nonprofit-owned homes for the mentally disabled. House Bill No. 196

Act. No. 25

Ga. L. 2017, p. 55

“Shall the Act be approved which provides an exemption from ad valorem taxes on nonprofit homes for the mentally disabled if they include business corporations in the ownership structure for financing purposes?”

Yes

No