Georgia Presidential Primary March 6th
Georgia voters head to the polls tomorrow, March 6, 2012 in the Presidential Preference Primary, and to vote in regional transportation sales tax (TSPLOST) elections. Voters in the City of Atlanta will decide whether to extend a one-cent sales tax to pay for sewer upgrades and a number of localities will decide on whether to allow Sunday Sale of Alcohol.
Polls are open from 7 AM to 7 PM and voters are reminded to bring their photo ID.
Voting in our online poll continues through midnight tonight. With over 1700 votes, the results so far are:
- Newt Gingrich 41%
- Ron Paul 34%
- Rick Santorum 15%
- Mitt Romney 9%
I’ll go ahead and say that I’ll be shocked if Ron Paul gets 1/4 of that. So I’m setting the over-under on Ron Paul at 8.5%.
If you haven’t already voted:
Real Presidential Polls
The most recent Georgia Presidential polls released include Mason-Dixon for the AJC, which shows Gingrich 38, Romney 24, Santorum 22, Paul 3and was in the field last week from Wednesday through Friday.Rasmussen released a poll that was in the field Thursday night and showed the race at Gingrich 38, Romney 26, Santorum 20, and Ron Paul 7.
Rosetta Stone/Landmark conducted a poll Thursday which pegs the numbers at Gingrich 42, Romney 22, Santorum 26, Paul 5.
Other Presidential News
Mitt Romney visited Brookwood High School in Gwinnett County for a rally and pancake breakfast on Sunday.
Rick Santorum has sent a robocall to Georgia voters claiming that Mitt Romney wrote a personal check to Planned Parenthood. The check referred to was apparently written by Ann Romney for $150 in 1994.
Newt Gingrich will be in Knoxville and Chattanooga, TN today and will attend a breakfast with the Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday morning before a Primary Night Party at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel.
Legislative News
Today is the 29th Legislative Day and Wednesday marks Crossover Day, the 30th day, when bills must have passed one house of the legislature to be eligible for consideration in the other chamber.
Here is the Senate Rules Calendar for today, and the House Rules Calendar is available here. Both chambers are scheduled to convene at 10 AM.
Walter Jones reviews the hectic legislative schedule for today and Wednesday, noting that the session appears to be headed for a later finish than predicted earlier this year, and that “legislators, staffers and lobbyists will be eager to learn this week if there is a schedule agreed to for the balance of the 40-day session and whether it will wrap up before their children’s Spring Break from school.”
Jones also notes in a separate article that the path for prospective legislation is often narrower and more winding than it may appear from the outside and reminds us:
Of Georgia’s 1,200 House bills and 500 Senate bills introduced in this two-year legislative term, most will encounter bumps along their path toward the governor’s desk. The majority won’t get out of committee.
Senate Bill 355, due on the floor today, would expand the people who are required to report suspected child abuse.
Senate Bill 428 would require state agencies to report annually on federal laws that require the agency to adopt rules or regulations.
Senate Bill 458, which would require proof of lawful immigration status before enrolling in one of Georgia’s public colleges or universities, is due for a vote today.
The final item on today’s Senate calendar is Senate Bill 483, which would allow the Georgia Public Service Commission to elect its own Chairman rather than being forced to rotate among its members every year. If a Democrat is ever elected to the PSC again, current law would have the absurd effect of requiring that person to chair a committee that includes a majority of Republican members.
Local News
Moving local elections in Augusta to July could favor Republicans, according to Richmond County Democratic Party Chair Lowell Greenbaum. House Bill 776, which passed the State House last week would do that.
Senate Bill 457, by Sen. Jeff Mullis, would results in many local elections becoming partisan contests. Currently a local legislative delegation may change local elections to from non-partisan, but if SB 457 passes, county governments would be able to offer voters in November 2012 the opportunity to approve a change future contests to partisan elections. Dade County Democratic Chairman Tom McMahan opposes the change at least as far as elections for Sheriff go. “Anything to do with law enforcement should probably be nonpartisan,” McMahan said. “I don’t see a Democratic way of being sheriff or Republican way of being sheriff.”
Citizens in several Cobb County jurisdictions, including Marietta, Austell, Powder Springs and unincorporated Cobb will vote on Sunday Sales tomorrow in addition to the Presidential race.
Transportation
Tomorrow is the day for voters across Georgia to decide whether their region participates in the T-SPLOST. And that’s what happens when I try to cut back on my morning coffee. The election is July 31st. My apologies. Duh. Giving up that third (and fourth and fifth…) cup seemed like a good idea, as did giving up sleeping past 5:00 AM. Both at the same time might have been a bit over-optomistic.
The Federal Highway Administration finds that a 435-mile, $4.8 billion proposed interstate route connecting Savannah, Augusta and Knoxville, TN will not work.
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