Q: There were different questions on the Democratic and Republican primary ballots. What is the purpose of having different questions on the ballots? How does this affect the election or future elections? — Donna Nicholson, Norcross
A: The answers to the questions give each party's leadership a sense of what its voters are thinking, state lawmakers have said. "These kinds of ballot initiatives are a way to gauge the pulse of the electorate with probably a lot more accuracy than polls usually do," House Majority Whip Edward Lindsey, R-Atlanta, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Now, where we go once the voters speak, we'll have to see." House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, D-Atlanta, has said the goal was "to test the appetite within our communities." The results are nonbinding.
Q: How many of the Chinese female gymnasts, who were later discovered to be too young for the 2008 Olympic Games, are competing in London? — Jim Rhinehardt, Buckhead
A: The International Gymnastics Federation found that all members of the 2008 Chinese women's gymnastics team met age requirements for that summer's Olympics. Deng Linlin and He Kexin were on both the 2008 and 2012 teams. In 2010, Chinese gymnast Dong Fangxiao was found to have been too young to have participated in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. It stripped the Chinese team of its bronze medal and awarded the bronze to the U.S. team, which had finished fourth at those Games. Gymnasts must turn 16 years old during an Olympic year to compete in the games.
Andy Johnston wrote this column; Aaron Gould Sheinin contributed. Do you have a question about the news? We'll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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