Around 4,700 voters cast ballots during the first week of early voting in Gwinnett County's landmark MARTA referendum.
The number may not sound like much for a county with more than 500,000 registered voters, but it has elections officials thinking it remains on pace for higher-than-usual turnout for a special election.
And while there's a ways to go yet, with seven new polling locations opening Monday for the final two weeks of advance voting, breakdowns of the early turnout don't skew well for pro-transit forces.
According to analysis performed by Ryan Anderson, the data guru behind GeorgiaVotes.com, more than 60 percent of the ballots cast through Sunday were submitted by white voters. More than 80 percent were cast by voters 50 or older.
It's hardly an exact science and, to be clear, it's not yet known how many of those ballots were cast for or against the referendum. But older white voters are generally the ones that most reliably fill the ballot box — and the ones most likely to oppose public transportation, according to recent polls and surveys.
That means that driving a younger, more diverse group of voters to the polls is key for those supporting the referendum’s passage on March 19. That’s not a new revelation, but one highlighted by the Week 1 turnout.
“We know from surveys that if everyone in the county votes, this referendum would pass easily, so the high turnout numbers are promising,” said Brian Robinson, a consultant working with the pro-referendum committee called Go Gwinnett. “That said, we expect the vote is tight, and we have much more work to do in turnout out ‘yes’ voters.”
The New Georgia Project Action Fund is another group advocating on behalf of the referendum. No formal opposition campaign has taken shape, but grassroots efforts on Facebook and other social media have started to gain more momentum in recent weeks. Transit opponent Joe Newton is planning a forum Tuesday night in Lawrenceville.
“We have more work to do and are launching a series of initiatives aimed at getting more working age people to the polls while educating older voters on the benefits of transit,” said Fred Hicks, campaign manager for the New Georgia Project Action Fund.
He said those include continued texting efforts to target younger voters and a “souls to the polls” event on Sunday.
Gwinnett overwhelmingly rejected MARTA the last time it voted on joining the system in 1990 but the county has since grown more accepting of mass transit. Due in part to the county's changing demographics, the county's conservative hardliners — who defeated transit expansion in the past — might be giving ground to more liberal political positions.
And the dynamics of the early voting crowd could very well change in the next two weeks.
During the first week, only one advance in-person voting location (the main Gwinnett elections office in Lawrenceville) was open. Seven satellite early voting locations opened Monday and will now be open between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. every day through March 15.
Through 3 p.m. Monday, nearly 1,600 total voters had cast ballots at the new locations. Demographic breakdowns of those voters were not immediately available.
If approved, the referendum would consummate Gwinnett's pending contract with MARTA and commit county residents and visitors to paying a new 1 percent sales tax until 2057. The proceeds — projected around $5.5 billion — would fund a dramatic expansion of transit services in the county.
The transit plan would include a roughly five-mile passenger rail extension from the Doraville MARTA station into the I-85/Jimmy Carter Boulevard near Norcross; about 50 miles of bus rapid transit routes (which operate in dedicated lanes and are often likened to "light rail on rubber tires"); and another 110 miles of "rapid bus" routes (which often operate in mixed traffic but have "queue jumpers" and other devices to help speed up travel).
The plan also includes eight new park-and-ride lots and roughly double the amount of local bus service that is currently offered.
EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS
Seven new satellite locations are now open for advance voting in Gwinnett County’s MARTA referendum. They are listed below and will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through March 15.
Advance in-person voting also remains available at the Gwinnett County Elections Office, 455 Grayson Highway in Lawrenceville.
- Bogan Park Community Recreation Center, 2723 North Bogan Road, Buford, GA 30518
- Dacula Park Activity Building , 2735 Old Auburn Road, Dacula, GA 30019
- George Pierce Park Community Recreation Center, 55 Buford Highway, Suwanee, GA 30024
- Lenora Park Activity Room, 4515 Lenora Church Road, Snellville, GA 30078
- Lucky Shoals Park Community Recreation Center, 4651 Britt Road, Norcross, GA 30093
- Mountain Park Activity Building, 1063 Rockbridge Road, Stone Mountain, GA 30087
- Shorty Howell Park Community Recreation Center, 2750 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth, GA 30096
AJC’s COMPLETE COVERAGE
Gwinnett voters will go the polls on March 19 in a historic special election that could change the face of metro Atlanta’s suburbs.
Residents there will decide if Georgia’s second most populous county will join the MARTA system and chip in a new 1 percent sales tax to pay for billions of dollars in transit improvements. A successful referendum in Gwinnett may ignite action for more mass transit in other metro Atlanta counties that have long been resistant to the idea.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will provide comprehensive coverage leading up to the vote and on Election Day. Our reporters will help readers understand the issues, the key players, what’s at stake, and provide information for voters to make an informed decision at the ballot box.
