Ballot questions survey voters

From legalizing marijuana to building the wall, voters in the May 24 partisan primaries will see a series of policy questions on their ballots.

“These questions, unlike referendums, are not binding in any way but generate data and differentiation for the two parties,” the League of Women Voters of Georgia explains.

Statewide, there are 9 questions on the Democrats’ ballot and 8 on the Republicans’ ballot. The Floyd County Republican Party added a ninth, local, question to theirs.

The LWVGA is urging voters who want to weigh in to familiarize themselves with the issues before going to the polls.

“Some of these questions are based on false premises. Including them on the ballot may further cement them as fact in partisan voters’ minds,” the nonpartisan group’s latest newsletter notes.

DEMOCRATS’ QUESTIONS

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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?

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

REPUBLICANS’ 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?

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?

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

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?

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

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

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?

Floyd County voters who choose a Republican ballot also will see a local question:

Do you support changing (Rome) City Commission elections to require each candidate to run for a specific post as opposed to the current system where the top three vote-getters within a Ward become commissioners?