Election Day in SPLOST referendum Tuesday after less than 3% voted early
Polls in all 16 of Bulloch County’s traditional voting precincts will be open 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 18, in the special election on whether a 1% Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or SPLOST, will continue to be collected in the county for another six years. Less than 3% of the county’s registered voters cast early or absentee ballots in the previous three weeks.
If approved by a majority of voters, the tax is projected to collect at least $138 million for joint projects and population-based shares for other projects of the governments of Bulloch County and the municipalities of Statesboro, Brooklet, Portal and Register. The largest single planned project is an expansion of the Bulloch County Jail. Buying landfill space is another major item, but the tax also funds capital spending on things ranging from public parks and water and sewer systems to election equipment.
The Board of Elections and Registration office in the County Annex hosted 15 weekdays and two Saturdays for in-person advanced voting, which concluded last Friday. During that time 1,292 people cast in-person electronic ballots. Additionally, the elections staff mailed out 59 voter-requested absentee ballots, of which 34 had been returned by Monday afternoon, reported county Election Supervisor Shontay Jones. The remaining absentee ballots can be counted if completed and returned to the elections office by 7 p.m. Tuesday.
As of this election, Bulloch County has 54,549 total registered voters. Of those, 49,598 are counted by the state as “active” from having voted in recent elections. Either way, the turnout prior to this final Election Day would still be less than 3% of total registered or active voters, even if the remaining few absentee ballots were returned.
https://www.statesboroherald.com/local/election-day-in-splost-referendum-tuesday-after-less-than-3-voted-early/