Guns, gambling, abortion and more: Here are the ballot questions for the 2024 primary elections in metro Atlanta
The final day to vote in this year’s primary elections is on Tuesday, when voters across Georgia will have their say in who to send to November’s general election.
There are contested primaries for Congress, the state legislature and high-profile local offices. Several nonpartisan judicial races will also be decided, including a big state Supreme Court race.
But voters will also be asked a series of yes-no questions covering a wide range of issues, depending on which ballot you request. Voters can pull a Democratic, Republican or nonpartisan ballot.
It’s a critical election year, and Georgia is at the center of it. Stay in the know with WABE’s 2024 Georgia Elections page, where you can find WABE’s latest election news and podcast episodes, important dates, voting locations, candidate info, results and more.
Voters in Atlanta will decide whether a 1% sales tax should be passed to fund water and sewer projects, and Gwinnett voters will decide whether to create a new city called Mulberry.
Democratic and Republican ballots will also include party-specific advisory questions. These are nonbinding questions that parties ask to gauge voters’ priorities, and this year they cover a number of hot-button issues including abortion, guns, gambling, school vouchers, immigration and election security.
This list covers the statewide party questions, plus any city or county-specific questions in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett Counties. Click on a list item below to jump the corresponding section. To view your sample ballot with all the races and questions, go to the Georgia My Voter Page.
Statewide
Both Democratic and Republican voters will answer eight state party questions. Nonpartisan voters will not answer any state party questions.
Georgia Democratic Party Questions
1. Should the United States and the State of Georgia protect Georgians from gun violence by banning assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, closing background check loopholes, and passing other common-sense gun safety reforms?
2. Should the State of Georgia incentivize clean energy production as part of a climate policy that recognizes the urgent threat that climate change poses to Georgians’ health, lives and future?
3. Should the State of Georgia expand voter access by allowing same-day voter registration, removing obstacles to voting by mail, and making secure ballot drop boxes accessible at all times through Election Day?
4. Should the State of Georgia protect reproductive freedom by repealing the current six-week abortion ban, restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade and ensuring access to contraceptives, IVF, abortion and other reproductive health care?
5. Should the State of Georgia stop using taxpayer dollars intended for public education to pay for private school vouchers?
6. Should the State of Georgia raise the minimum wage to a living wage?
7. Should the portion of the Georgia state constitution allowing for involuntary servitude of prisoners and others convicted of offenses be repealed, thus prohibiting all forms of slavery and involuntary servitude statewide?
8. Should the State of Georgia improve access to safe, affordable housing by increasing the affordable housing supply, protecting tenants’ rights to habitable living conditions, and cracking down on negligence or abuse by property management companies or landlords?
Georgia Republican Party Questions
1. For future elections, do you want hand marked paper ballots, scanned and verified by hand count on live stream video?
2. Should the legislature enact the FairTax replacing the state income tax and state sales tax with a consumption tax equal to current state funding and taxing no legal citizen or family up to the poverty level of spending?
3. Should the legislature ban registered lobbyists from serving on the State Elections Board?
4. Should the Georgia Republican Primary have a closed primary, meaning that only registered Republicans would be allowed to vote in the Republican Primary?
5. Should public officials who allow illegal migration to occur be held responsible for crimes committed by illegal aliens?
6. Would you support a statewide vote to allow gaming in Georgia so the voters can decide this issue instead of politicians in Atlanta?
7. Currently, hundreds of thousands of hours and dollars are spent every year cleaning up voter rolls. Would you support an amendment to the National Voting Rights Act that would require registered voters to renew their registration every four years?
8. Do you believe unelected and unaccountable international bureaucrats, like the UN-controlled World Health Organization (WHO), should have complete control over management of future pandemics in the United States and authority to regulate your healthcare and personal health choices?
Clayton County
The only questions that Clayton County Democratic and Republican voters will be asked are the state party questions. Nonpartisan Clayton ballots will have no questions.
Cobb County
Cobb Democrats will have the state party questions and nine county party questions. Cobb Republicans will only have the state party questions. Nonpartisan Cobb ballots will have no questions.
Cobb County Democratic Party Questions
1. Due to the rising cost of living, do you agree that all levels of Cobb government should prioritize making Cobb provide more affordable housing for renters and home-buyers?
2. Do you agree that Cobb’s public school’s administrators have a duty to focus on research-based curricula and teachings that prepare our children for 21st century jobs and that they should avoid wasting taxpayer funds on personal, political vendettas that undermine their professionalism and credibility with our children and divide our community?
3. Mental Health Services are in dire need in the county and throughout the state of Georgia, should Georgia increase yearly funding to address the mental health crisis?
4. Should Georgia accept federal funding to expand Medicaid for over 400,000 Georgians?
5. Should marijuana be legalized, taxed, and regulated in the same manner as alcohol for adults 21 years and older with proceeds going towards education?
6. Should every 3- and 4-year-old be given the opportunity to attend high-quality preschool free of charge?
7. Should Georgia have a state-funded paid family leave program for people who need to care for a seriously ill family member or elderly?
8. Should there be a tax on nicotine products (including cigarettes, liquid for e-cigarettes or vape pens, nicotine pouches and nicotine gum) that goes towards education?
9. Should incarcerated people have the ability to obtain HOPE grants for education?
DeKalb County
DeKalb Democrats and Republicans will have the state party questions and several county party questions. All DeKalb voters in the City of Atlanta will be asked about a sales tax to fund water and sewage projects.
DeKalb County Democratic Party Questions
1. Should Georgia’s $11 billion surplus be used to invest in healthcare by fully expanding Medicaid?
2. Should all Georgians have equal access to contraception and in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment?
3. Should Georgia restore access to abortion care past the current 6-week ban?
4. Should Georgia impose limits on companies and institutional investors buying single-family homes?
5. Should Georgia allow sports betting in the state and use those funds for educational scholarships?
6. Should districts in Georgia be drawn independent of the state legislature?
7. Should DeKalb expand residential zoning options to include cottages, triplexes, and more dense housing options?
8. Should the state of Georgia ban assault weapons?
DeKalb County Republican Party Questions
1. In view of Georgia’s $15 billion surplus, do you support eliminating the state income tax?
2. Do you advocate for education choice by parents, including vouchers for private schools, charter schools, and homeschooling?
3. Do you support new legislation to require term limits at the state and federal levels?
4. Do you believe that all non-citizens entering the United States should cross our border legally, and all those who have crossed illegally should be removed from the country?
5. Is it time to use a temporary hold on immigration to the U.S. until we complete our border security goals?
6. Do you support conducting voting with hand-marked paper ballots, counted manually at precincts, with those numbers transmitted directly to the Secretary of State for tallying?
7. Should Republican Voters take control of their Primaries by passing legislation for Closed Primaries in Georgia?
8. Should Republican officials who fail to adhere to the Republican Party platform be required to run as Independents or members of other parties in future elections?
9. Do you support the creation of special zones with increased taxes for funding county development projects?
10. Will you visit DeKalbGOP.org for current and specifically local information about politics, and to organize with other Republican Citizens near you?
DeKalb County Voters in the City of Atlanta
City of Atlanta Municipal Option Sales Tax Referendum (MOST)
1. Shall a special one percent (1%) sales and use tax be reimposed in the City of Atlanta for a period of time not to exceed 16 calendar quarters and for the raising of not more than One Billion One Hundred Million Dollars and Zero Cents ($1,100,000,000.00) for the purpose of funding water and sewer projects and costs?
Fulton County
Fulton Democrats will only have the state party questions. Fulton Republicans will have the state party questions and 11 county party questions. All Fulton voters in the City of Atlanta will be asked about a sales tax to fund water and sewage projects.
Fulton County Republican Party Questions
1. In view of Georgia’s $15 billion surplus, do you support eliminating the state income tax?
2. Do you advocate for choice in education by parents, including vouchers for private schools, charter schools, and homeschooling?
3. Do you believe biological men, even if dressed as a woman, should be able to use women’s restrooms, dressing rooms, or locker rooms?
4. Do you support new legislation to require term limits at the state and the federal levels?
5. Do you believe that all non-citizens entering the United States should cross our border legally, and all those who have crossed illegally should be removed from the Country?
6. Is it time to place a temporary hold on immigration to the U.S. until we complete our border security goals?
7. Do you support conducting elections with hand-marked paper ballots, counted manually at the precincts?
8. Do you believe adults have a right to make their own medical decisions, even in the midst of a pandemic?
9. Should Republican voters take control of their Primaries by passing legislation for Closed Primaries in Georgia, so that only Republicans would be voting in a Republican Primary?
10. Should Republican officials who fail to adhere to the Republican Party platform be required to run as Independents or members of other parties in future elections?
11. Will you visit FultonGAGOP.org for more information about how to get involved and to organize with other Republican Citizens near you?
Fulton County Voters in the City of Atlanta
City of Atlanta Municipal Option Sales Tax Referendum (MOST)
1. Shall a special one percent (1%) sales and use tax be reimposed in the City of Atlanta for a period of time not to exceed 16 calendar quarters and for the raising of not more than One Billion One Hundred Million Dollars and Zero Cents ($1,100,000,000.00) for the purpose of funding water and sewer projects and costs?
Gwinnett County
All Gwinnett County voters will answer three questions about homestead exemptions and creating the City of Mulberry. Gwinnett Democrats will also have the state party questions. Gwinnett Republicans will have the state party questions and five county party questions.
All Gwinnett County Voters
Homestead Exemption
1. Shall the Act be approved which increases the homestead exemption from Gwinnett County school district ad valorem taxes for educational purposes in the amount of $8,000 of the assessed value of the homestead for residents of that school district, which represents a $4,000 increase in such exemption?
Homestead Exemption for Public Service Employees
2. Shall the Act be approved which provides an additional homestead exemption from Gwinnett County school district ad valorem taxes for educational purposes in the amount of $2,000 of the assessed value of the homestead for residents of that school district, who are public service employees?
Incorporation of the City of Mulberry
3. Shall the Act incorporating the City of Mulberry in Gwinnett County according to the charter contained in the Act be approved?
Gwinnett County Republican Party Questions
1. Do you support issuing school vouchers?
2. Do you believe, at this time, Gwinnett has too many high-density housing units?
3. Should there be a moratorium on building additional high-density apartment homes?
4. Would you support a $17 billion 30-year sales tax for transit only in Gwinnett County?
5. Do you believe that increasing crime is a major problem in Gwinnett?