A mistake on the March 24 ballot has voters in Gainesville and Buford voting on a question they are not eligible to decide, but officials insisted Tuesday the error would not affect the integrity of the vote.
At issue is the vote on the extension of the education special purpose local option sales tax – or ESPLOST. Voters in both cities have a question on their ballots about the $258 million bond referendum being requested by Hall County. But only residents of unincorporated Hall County should be able to vote on that issue.
Early voting started Monday for the March 24 election, which is also the presidential preference primary in Georgia.
Nothing is missing from any of the ballots, officials said. But Gainesville and Buford voters will see an extra question. Votes on that question will not be counted. But Gainesville and Buford voters are being encouraged to vote on the ESPLOST and bond questions related to their school systems.
“Every ballot has all of the questions that should be asked,” Hall County spokeswoman Katie Crumley said Tuesday night. “But there is an extra question on Gainesville and Buford ballots that only Hall County voters should have. But it shouldn’t affect the outcome of the election.”
Crumley said county officials have been in contact with the Georgia Secretary of State’s office about the error, and they have been assured that votes on the Hall County question that have been erroneously cast by Gainesville or Buford voters can be filtered out of the final results.
“We have that in writing from the Secretary of State’s office,” Crumley said. “They don’t seem too concerned.”
She said the county has also consulted with its lawyers about the issue.
“We hate that the error has occurred, but we are confident the integrity of the election will be upheld,” she said.
Hall County School Superintendent Will Schofield said Tuesday night he is confident about the recommendation from the Secretary of State’s office.
“I have been briefed by the county about a solution that has been signed off on by the Secretary of State’s office,” Schofield said. “No one has a ballot missing any items. Extraneous items will not be counted. We look forward to the results on March 24.”
Gainesville voters are being asked to decide about the extension of the ESPLOST and about an $83 million bond referendum. Voters in the city can ignore the question about the county’s bond referendum. If they vote on that question, that portion of their ballot will be invalidated. But votes on anything else on the ballot will count, officials said.
Ballots for voters in unincorporated Hall County will have correct ballots. Voters will see a question about extension of ESPLOST and a question about the bond referendum.
