TSPLOST tax vote seeing low turnout in Lumpkin

In a Special Election, Lumpkin County voters will make their voices heard on the continued collection of a 1 percent local transportation tax, known as TSPLOST. But as Election Day quickly approaches, a number of residents have reached out to The Nugget expressing their confusion. Questions persist in the minds of these voters not only about the purpose of the tax itself, but where and how they can cast their ballot. This is because, in a unique set of circumstances, early voters are being required to cast their General and Special Election ballots at different locations.
Revenue generated by Transportation Special Local Option Sales Tax (also known as TSPLOST) can only be used to help pay for transportation-related improvements to roads, sidewalks, and vehicles used for road maintenance. The special tax, approved by public referendum in 2019, is set to expire early next year when it is expected to reach the maximum amount authorized at its initial passage in 2019.
“Under the law at that time, you had to set your projected revenue, which we set at $15 million. You could collect it for a period of five years, or until the projected revenue amount was reached,” said Chris Dockery, chairman of the Board of Commissioners. “[However] when sales tax revenue started coming in on internet sales, the collections of the one-cent sales tax came in a lot faster than we anticipated. The good news is collections were strong and we were able to do a lot with it. The bad news is we collected faster than we thought.”
Before a referendum to continue the tax could be initiated, however, the county and city had to finalize the wording of an intergovernmental agreement detailing shared use of the additional transportation funds, as well as the estimated amount of funding each would require.
“You start off by saying ‘here are the projects we want to do.’ Both the city and county list their most urgent transportation-related projects. Then you estimate the amount of money each of these projects are going to cost,” said Dahlonega Mayor JoAnne Taylor.

DOUBLE BALLOTS

In this case, however, TSPLOST discussions were complicated by difficult and ongoing negotiations between the city and county over the proposed distribution of broader-purpose funds from the 1 percent LOST, or local option sales tax. When asked whether it would have been possible to combine the General and Special Election votes in 2022, County Manager Alan Ours responded that “state law does allow for a special election to be on the ballot for a general election, however there is a time period required to call for such an election. Negotiations on LOST had to be worked through first, and it took a little longer than we had hoped for. And that is the reason we were late initiating the TSPLOST referendum.”
Chairman Dockery echoed this sentiment.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t get through LOST as seamlessly as I hoped we would have, so the timeline to put the TSPLOST on the general ballot had passed,” he said. “But we were still allowed to do it on the same election cycle.”
Consequently, early voters in the upcoming election will need to cast separate ballots at separate locations in order to participate in both the General and Special Elections. Voters casting early absentee ballots by mail must request and return separate ballots for the General and Special Elections. Both ballots must be requested at least 11 days prior to the election (October 28), and must be received by the Registrar's Office before polls close on Election Day in order to be counted. Meanwhile, in-person early voting for the general election ballot is taking place through November 4 at the Lumpkin County Elections Office at 56 Short Street.
Early voting for the single-issue TSPLOST ballot, meanwhile, is taking place at the nearby Lumpkin County Elections Annex (25 Short Street).

TURNING OUT

Following reports of some confusion among early voters about this year’s procedure, election officials appeared to add additional signage pointing out the two distinct polling locations. However, information displayed on the Elections & Registration website indicates a considerable gap in voter participation still remains between the two elections. Voting totals dated from October 17 to October 24 show that turnout in the special TSPLOST election is running around 70 percent below that of the general election taking place next door.
In fact, the first day of early voting saw a reported total of 10 ballots cast in the special election.
Since then the numbers have picked up but are still lagging behind the general election.
If this trend persists, a relatively small percentage of active voters could end up deciding the future of a critical transportation referendum.
As for Election Day itself, November 8, last-minute meetings were being held on Monday and Tuesday to determine whether one or two voting locations will be required. Voters will cast their general election ballots at the usual Election Day polling location, the Parks and Recreation building at 365 Riley Road.
However, as of publication, it remains unclear whether residents will need to drive over to the Elections Annex in order to cast their vote on TSPLOST.
Money from the 2019 TSPLOST assisted in the completion of the roundabout at Oak Grove Road, and city and county officials have their eyes set on tackling the busy intersection of Auraria and Highway 9 next, if the tax is renewed.
Robb Nichols, Executive Director of the Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce, stressed that it is in the vital interest of the community to rally behind the TSPLOST referendum.
“The Chamber’s position is that we want to promote economic development here, and ensure our local businesses survive and thrive, and roads and sidewalks are a crucial part of that,” he said. “If you have bad roads, tourists don’t want to come here. That is why transportation is so important to our local economy. By us re-authorizing TSPLOST, and having skin in the game, it likewise encourages the Georgia Department of Transportation to authorize the spending of state money to help improve our roads and infrastructure.”