Q: Please explain the difference between battleground states and swing states.
— Lance DeLoach, Thomaston
A: Swing and battleground both can be used to describe a state "where the two major political parties have similar levels of support among voters," according to www.OxfordDictionaries.com. These states also are sometimes referred to as purple states, a combination of the two colors representative of Republicans (red) and Democrats (blue). Swing states are "viewed as important in determining the overall result of a presidential election." Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin are considered the key swing states in this year's election, according to CNN.com.
Q: I know that the vote for establishing the city of Brookhaven was 55-45 percent, but what percentage of registered voters actually voted?
— Riley O’Connor, Brookhaven
A: There were 29,538 DeKalb County voters who qualified to vote on the creation of the city of Brookhaven on the July 31 ballot. Of those, 10,871 (36.8 percent) voted on the issue of cityhood, according to the DeKalb County Board of Registrations and Elections. Of those who voted, 5,942 (55 percent) voted for the city of Brookhaven and 4,929 (45 percent) who voted against it. Brookhaven, which has about 49,000 residents, will elect a major and fill four city council seats on Nov. 6. It officially will become a city on Dec. 17.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. 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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