Poll: Georgians want to vote on transportation funds

Even in the midst of a head-splitting economy, Georgia voters across the board want the chance to vote on transportation funding, according to a poll released Thursday by a coalition that is seeking money for projects.

The poll found that if people were told the state was out of money for needed projects, 74.8 percent of Republicans and 75.3 percent of Democrats would want “the right to vote on whether or not to vote” on a penny tax for transportation projects. It was conducted in December.

The poll, commissioned by Get Georgia Moving, a big tent advocacy group, did not ask the voters whether they would vote in favor of holding the tax referendum. But Bill Linginfelter, chairman of the transportation committees at the Metro Atlanta and Georgia chambers of commerce, said the meaning of the response was clear. “They just want the right to vote on a plan,” he said. “People are fed up with sitting in traffic. It’s not just a metro Atlanta issue.”

In another question, solid majorities said that travel times in Georgia and urban congestion had gotten so bad that the Legislature needed to “address transportation needs immediately.” Agreeing with that statement were 66.3 percent of Republicans and 73.6 percent of Democrats.

Funding advocates were devastated when a proposal to allow regional referendums on a penny sales tax failed last year. It passed the House comfortably. After it lost by three votes in the Senate, the advocates’ wrath turned to Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who leads that chamber. Cagle has said recently that he is committed to transportation funding.

He said he would introduce a bill immediately if the groups came to him with a “consensus” proposal.

“Transportation has been a top priority for the lieutenant governor and he has worked diligently on this issue,” said Jaillene Hunter, a spokeswoman for Cagle.

Groups are also concerned about where Gov. Sonny Perdue stands. Last year he sat on the sidelines, then came out against the funding proposal. This year he ordered a study to make the “business case for transportation investment.” Since its results came out weeks ago touting the benefits the state could realize from more transportation funding, he hasn’t taken a definitive stand.

But his spokesman, Bert Brantley, said that “all the things you heard him say he was looking for [from the study] are in line with a lot of the conclusions.”

The poll drew results from robocalls to 508 phone numbers belonging to Georgia voters on Dec. 11, 2008. Although automated polls have at times drawn criticism, Jeff Shusterman, president of Atlanta-based Majority Opinion Research, which conducted the poll with Insider Advantage, said they had proved accurate. Shusterman said he was “extremely confident” that the poll results were an accurate picture of Georgia voter opinions within the 4.35 percent margin of error.