Thread: GA. Tax Fails After Tea Party and Liberals Unite

TSPLOST Results: Tax Fails After Tea Party and Liberals Unite

Jake Horowitz
2012 Elections
2 minutes ago

TSPLOST Results Tax Fails After Tea Party and Liberals Unite

On Tuesday, Georgia voters head to the polls in the state's July 31 primary election, and all eyes will be on the fate of the controversial transportation referendum known as T-SPLOST, which would raise sales taxes by 1 cent in order to raise $8.5 billion in traffic improvements. The 10-county project list would fund 157 transportation projects across the state and funnel 52% of the money to transit and 48% to improve the state's roads, but it has not come without its critics.

Supporters say that the tax raise would significantly boost the quality of life in Georgia, which currently ranks 48th in the nation in transportation spending per capita, and fourth in total hours the average commuter spends on the road each day. Moreover, they say that 70 percent of the region's existing, scheduled transportation funding for the next 30 years will be spent on maintaining the existing network, which leaves little room for expansion.

Meanwhile, opponents — everyone from the Tea Party, to the Sierra Club, and the NAACP — say that in the midst of an economic recession, raising taxes to reduce traffic congestion would be a mistake, and would not benefit minority groups of the state's natural environment. They say that more than half of the money would go to transit, which only represents 1% of the state's travel. According to Wendell Cox, who served three terms on the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission:
It is a disservice to spend more than half the money on projects that cannot reduce traffic congestion. It would make as much sense to offer the gas station $7 per gallon to fill up the car, rather than the posted $3.50. So long as Atlanta’s leaders are only half-concerned about traffic congestion, streets and highways are likely to become more crowded. Atlanta’s leadership needs to be sent a message. They should start over, and produce a plan that seriously reduces traffic congestion, without wasting money. Rejecting the tax would give Atlanta a chance to reduce traffic congestion and become more competitive, unlike the present proposal.

In the latest round of polling, T-SPLOST faced strong opposition, with only 35% saying they will vote yes for the tax, with 55% saying they will vote no. The rest remain undecided.

Tuesday is an open primary, which means all Georgia voters, Democrat and Republican, will vote on T-SPLOST.

PolicyMic will be following the results of the Georgia state primary live. For real-time results and analysis on the outcome of T-SPLOST and other major races, refresh this page.

UPDATE: 9:55 PM TSPLOST Shot down throughout Georgia.


9:30 PM


9:10 Game Over, TSPLOST


8:50 PM This is on its last breath:

8:40 PM The latest remains largely unchanged:

8:18 PM This is not even close. Numbers check:

8:13 PM For an update on the numbers on races other than T SPLOST, see here.
8:07 PM New numbers show it's likely a done deal for the transportation tax.

8:03 PM Numbers are coming in, not looking good for T SPLOST:

7:47 PM Now results in major Districts have begun to come in at a more regular pace. 31 counties have reported, and 30,232 ballots have been cast and counted.
District 1: Russo and Messinger are in a dead heat: Messinger 49.93% of the vote (357 votes) vs. Russo 50.07% of the vote (358 votes).
District 9: Collins leads with 44.51% (1,573 votes), Zoller in 2nd with 34.58% and 1,222 votes.
District 12: Lee Anderson leads with 43.96% (364 votes) to challenge John Barrow in November.
7:41 PM Rumors have begun circulating on Twitter that T SPLOST has been defeated. This is unconfirmed.

First results from #VoteCherokee say 75% no 24% yes on T-SPLOST
— MDJ Online (@mdjonline) July 31, 2012

7:30 PM Numbers in the three most closely-watched districts: In District 1, still no numbers to report. In the 9th District, also no numbers yet. In the much-watched 12th District, Lee Anderson is leading with 46.97% of the vote, with Rick Allen trailing with 25.35% of the vote. Still less than 1,000 votes counted.
7:22 PM Results have begun to trickle in. 1 county has reported, along with 118 ballots counted. Sample size still way to small for real results. No numbers on T SPLOST have come in yet.
7:00 PM Let the games begin. Awaiting the returns of the Georgia primary, still 0% reporting, but polls are now officially closed.
Tuesday 3:15 PM The polls for the Georgia primary opened at 7 AM today, allowing millions of Georgians the opportunity to select their preferred candidates for the Georgia Assembly and Congress.
In addition, Georgians will have an opportunity to decide the fate of transportation in the region for years to come.
Turnout is expected to be very high in the Tuesday primary. In Lowndes County, officials are expecting twice as high of turnout as from 2008.
BACKGROUND: Here’s a look at some of the other big races in Georgia, outside of T SPLOST:
1st District: the Democratic side will feature two candidates. Nathan Russo is a 68-year-old retiree from St. Simons Island. Russo was held in 2006 for a misdemeanor arrest during a prostitution sting on Nov. 16, 2006 at a Springdale, S.C. motel. He is facing Lesli Rae Messinger, a 56-year-old small business owner who has already made public her wishes for Russo to leave the race.
9th District: In north Georgia, three Republicans are competing for the GOP nomination for a new seat gained from population growth tracked by the 2010 Census. The race pits conservative talk radio host Martha Zoller against veteran state Rep. Doug Collins and retired school Principal Roger Fitzpatrick. Zoller has been endorsed by conservative stars Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain.
12th District: Four Republicans in east Georgia are running for the GOP nomination to oppose Rep. John Barrow, Congress' last white Democrat from the Deep South. His 12th District was redrawn last year to remove his political base of Savannah, improving the seat's odds for Republicans and forcing the four-term congressman to move to Augusta. State Rep. Lee Anderson, a farmer, faces construction firm owner Rick W. Allen, attorney and retired Navy pilot Wright McLeod and attorney Maria Sheffield. Their primary race is almost certain to end in a runoff Aug. 21.

TSPLOST Results: Tax Fails After Tea Party and Liberals Unite

Look what can be done. Now if they would only unite to get rid of all of the corrupt politicians in Washington, we could take out country back. Both parties and the media keep us at each others throats for this reason alone. United we could bring them down and they know it. It isn't each other we should be fighting it is Washington. They play us for fools.

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