Mayor vote ballot referendum considered number one reason some Augustans are voting
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – There a lot of attention on the Mayor Vote Ballot Referendum on this Election Day, and some Augustans say this is considered to be the number one reason to cast their ballots.
Election officials say that it has been steady and not overly busy as voters made their way through two primary ballots and a non partisan ballot, and each ballot has the question about changing the city charter to allow the mayor to vote like the other commissioners.
“Is this an important Issue for you: the Mayor’s vote?”
“Yes, it’s important to me,” says Barbara Bennings.
“Was that one of the reasons you came out today or the number one reason?”
“The mayor’s vote was the number one reason. Yes,” says Bennings.
“For me ,it’s mostly the mayor voting. “That’s the main thing. That is the main reason I’m here today,” says Corby Tatom.
Mayor Garnett Johnson is leading the charge to get the referendum giving the mayor an equal vote on the ballot.
Mayor Johnson made the rounds holding a sign asking voters to say yes as Democratic State lawmakers urged voters to say no.
“I just want to briefly tell you that this is a power grab by the mayor and the Republicans,” says State Representative Gloria Frazier.
“This is not a power grab at all. This is just an equal vote. I am one of 11 members of the Richmond County commission. A lot of people don’t realize that the mayor is a member of the commission,” says Mayor Johnson.
However, even with the mayor vote referendum generating a lot of interest, turnout is expected to be lower than the 30 to 35 percent predicted at the start of early voting.
Travis Doss/Elections Director
“A little lower than that, which is somewhere between 20 and 25 percent. The first couple of days we were very steady and very heavy, and then, it kind of tampered off,” says Travis Doss, Richmond County Elections Director.
But if 25 percent of the registered voters in Augusta reject the referendum, will that be an end to the effort?
“If the voters reject it, they’ve had their voice. They’ve had their say, and we’ll move on,” says Mayor Johnson.
“And you won’t try again next year to get it back on the ballot?”
“I’m not saying I won’t do that, but we’re certainly going to try and move Augusta forward,” states Mayor Johnson.
It’s been almost thirty years in which the mayor could only vote to break a tie on the commission, and if the referendum is approved, the mayor becomes a full voting member on July 1st.
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