By Elliott Brack | Relief!
That’s what Gwinnett Countians should be feeling as the results of the 2015 E-SPLOST voting were announced. A small minority of the voters (only 7.09 percent, a record low) of Gwinnett thought enough of their county and the school system to go out and approve a one cent continuation of sales taxes for school purposes. That’s an awfully low number voting.
What made the relief special is that it had passed by such a wide majority, roughly 3-1. The vote totals were 18,838 for the proposal, and only 6,384 against. That was by 74.69 percent of those voting.
But what was really scary is that only 7.09 percent of the electorate had voted. In effect, 93 percent of the registered voters of Gwinnett didn’t give a doggone about the outcome. That’s alarming!
One reason the total voting was so low is that the referendum came on a year when there was no other issue on the Gwinnett ballot, an off-election year. We question the idea of proposing such a measure in a non-election year, since anything can happen when there is a low turnout. Since this was a five year referendum in 2015, the next E-SPLOST vote should be in 2020, during a regular voting cycle when more people should turn out. Sometimes it’s hard, but as the old principle goes, “Trust the people, always trust the people.” We were concerned that the county could be blind-sided by the small turnout, and that the proposition might lose.
The 2015 vote should also be remembered as a year when there was little organized opposition to the E-SPLOST proposal. We understand that one group in the county, the Tea Party, was against the idea. Gwinnett has been blessed with little solid Tea Party anti-establishment activity. The Tea Party has never gained ground here.
When you are pleased at near-misses, about all anyone can say is “Thank you, Lord.” Apparently a Golden Angel was watching over people on some occasions.
Gwinnett found its Golden Angel in the 18,838 people who went to the polls to vote to continue collecting one cent for schools on Tuesday.
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Gwinnett’s never turned down a E-SPLOST proposal. The voting in previous years:
Year Approved Yes No Percent Voting
1997 70.72% 30,344 12,565 17.17%
2001 78.73% 27,121 7,327 13.58%
2006 66.35% 100,288 50,851 47.88%
2011 60.5% 30,398 20,297 13.77%
2015 74.69% 18,838 6,384 7.09%
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HIGH AND LOW precincts in the E-SPLOST vote:
The highest turnouts were in Duncans C (Hamilton Mill UMC), 85.96%; Cates M (Craig Elementary School), 84.46%; Suwanee B (George Pierce Park), (82.90%); Goodwins H (Peachtree Road Baptist Church), 84.48%; and Cates G (Cannon UMC, $82.44%.
Lowest turnouts were Pinckneyville O Atlanta Chinese Christian Church), 57.57%; Pinckneyville S (St. Patrick’s Catholic Church), 59.74%; Pinckneyville I (Beaver Ridge Elementary), 61.36%; Rockbridge D (Evanagel Community Church), 61.90%; and Berkshire B (Lucky Shoals Community Center), 12.10%.
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ELECTIONS in Gwinnett are expected to be costly, because of the high registration and large number of precincts. Elections Supervisor Lynn Ledford tells us that Tuesday’s single-issue referendum cost between $500,000 and $600,000. That’s another reason not to have single issues before the public.
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