Cartersville, Bartow Co. Election Results 2020: Trump, GOP Soar

CARTERSVILLE, GA — As Georgia remains hanging in the balance following a long and undecided Election Day on Tuesday, local voters in Cartersville and Bartow County were clear in their support for President Donald Trump and other Republicans.

With nearly 68 percent of registered voters either casting ballots early or voting Tuesday, Trump - who remains in a tight race for a second term with Democratic challenger Joe Biden – collected nearly 75 percent of the vote among local residents who also threw their support to Republican candidates in other local and statewide races.

With 17 of 17 precincts reporting and 50,316 votes cast (67.62 percent of registered voters).

PRESIDENT

Donald Trump 37,498 (74.83 percent)

Joe Biden 11,924 (23.79 percent)

U.S. SENATE

David Perdue (R) 36,843 (74.14 percent)

Jon Ossoff (D) 11,513 (23.17 percent)

U.S. SENATE

Kelly Loeffler 21,104 (42.82 percent)

Doug Collins 12,832 (26.03 percent)

Raphael Warnock 7,548 (15.31 percent)

BOARD OF EDUCATION DISTRICT 4

Butch Emerson (R) 6,413 (75.77 percent)

Dexter Jones (D) 2,051 (24.23 percent)

ADAIRSVILLE CITY COUNCIL POST 4 (SPECIAL)

Brandey Jenkins 630 (33.93 percent)

Ahmad Hill 531 (28.59 percent)

Taylor Forsyth 421 (22.67 percent)

Susan Satterfield 147 (7.92 percent)

EUHARLEE CITY COUNCIL AT LARGE (SPECIAL)

Greg Free 1,214 (59.89 percent)

Ron Scifers 813 (40.11 percent)

WHAT'S ON THE BALLOT

Sample ballots are now available for Bartow County. In addition to deciding national and regional races, voters in Euharlee and Adairsville will be asked to fill vacancies on their city councils.

Also, voters will be asked to raise homestead exemptions in two different jurisdictions: Cartersville voters will be asked to approve raising the homestead exemption from $28,000 to $60,000 for those who are 65 or older or who are disabled, while all Bartow County voters will be asked to approve increasing the value of a homestead exemption from $5,000 to $10,000.

Statewide, Georgians will have the opportunity to vote on two proposed constitutional amendments and a referendum. These are the amendments, with explanations by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger: The wording of the ballot questions is available on sample ballots found at mvp.sos.ga.

Amendment 1

"Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to authorize the General Assembly to dedicate revenues derived from fees or taxes to the public purpose for which such fees or taxes were intended?"

Raffensperger's summary: This proposal authorizes the Georgia General Assembly by general law to require that fees or taxes collected for some specific intended public purpose be used as so intended. It requires any such general law to identify the specific public purpose, name the state agency to administer the funds, require the agency to make annual reports of revenues and expenses, and automatically end the fee or tax within ten years. It prohibits the General Assembly from designating funds when total revenues so dedicated equal or exceed one percent of the total state revenues based on the previous fiscal year's appropriated state revenues. It exempts such general laws from certain state constitutional restrictions. It requires that such general laws, including amendments, be approved by two-thirds of each chamber of the General Assembly, but allows for repeal of such general laws by simple majority vote. It prohibits attempts to reallocate dedicated funds through any appropriations act or amendment. It provides for temporary suspension of such general laws by the Governor or by the General Assembly in the event of a financial emergency, subject to certain limitations. It amends Article III, Section IX, Paragraph VI of the Georgia Constitution by re-designating the second subparagraph (o), relating to the dedication of the excise tax on the sale of fireworks, as subparagraph (p), by re-designating subparagraph (p), relating to the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Fund, as subparagraph (q), and by adding a new subparagraph (r).

Amendment 2

"Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to waive sovereign immunity and allow the people of Georgia to petition the superior court for relief from governmental acts done outside the scope of lawful authority or which violate the laws of this state, the Constitution of Georgia, or the Constitution of the United States?"

Raffensperger's summary: This proposal waives state and local sovereign immunity so as to allow citizens to sue the State of Georgia, its departments and other agencies, and its local governments in superior courts and authorizes superior courts to order state and local officers and employees to cease violations of the Georgia Constitution, the laws of the State of Georgia, or the United States Constitution, beginning with violations occurring on or after January 1, 2021. It requires that such suits be brought only against the State or Georgia, or in the case of a local government, against the specific local government. It requires superior courts to dismiss any such lawsuit that names any individual state or local public officer or employee as a defendant. It maintains the ability of superior courts to dismiss such suits based on other appropriate legal or equitable grounds or limitation on review in superior court. It prohibits any type of monetary award, including attorney's fees or costs of litigation, unless authorized by an Act of the Georgia General Assembly. It does not prohibit the General Assembly from further waiving certain other immunities provided for under Georgia's Constitution, though it does not waive any immunity provided for by the United States Constitution. It amends Article I, Section II, Paragraph V of the Georgia Constitution by rendering the current text subparagraph (a) and adding a new subparagraph (b).

Referendum

"Shall the Act be approved which provides an exemption from ad valorem taxes for all real property owned by a purely public charity, if such charity is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code and such real property is held exclusively for the purpose of building or repairing single-family homes to be financed by such charity to individuals using loans that shall not bear interest?"

Raffensperger's summary: This proposal authorizes a new exemption from ad valorem taxes for all real property owned by a purely public charity, if such charity is exempt from federal taxation and such property is used only for building or repairing single-family homes to be financed by such charity to individuals using zero-interest loans. It amends Code Section 48-5-41 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated by deleting "and" at the end of paragraph (14), by replacing the period with "; and" at the end of paragraph (15), and by adding a new paragraph. If approved by a majority of voters, the act becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2021, and applies to all tax years beginning on or after that date.