Voters to cast ballots in primary Tuesday
By Deborah Bennett Millen News Editor

Local residents will join voters across the state at the polls Tuesday, Feb. 5, to cast their ballots in the Presidential Preference Primary and a local Special Election to determine whether or not the present one-cent Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) should be continued for an additional six years.

Voters must declare a party preference, Democrat, Republican or Non-Partisan, prior to casting their ballots. A declaration of Non-Partisan will mean that the voter can vote only in the Special Election.

A photo I.D. must also be presented prior to voting. Forms of identification that are acceptable include: Georgia driver's license; valid ID card by any State or U.S. agency with photo; valid U.S. passport; valid government employee ID card; valid U.S. military ID card with photo; or valid tribal ID card with photo.

Democratic candidates for President of the United States are: Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Dennis J. Kucinich, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson.

Republican candidates are: Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Alan Keyes, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo and Fred Thompson.

Voters will simply vote "yes" or "no" in the Special Election to determine whether or not the present one-cent SPLOST should be continued. The present tax expires in July due to the county's receiving a waiver from the state for its continuation beyond the March expiration date. Should it receive voter approval, SPLOST revenue will be used for county and city capital improvement projects as listed in the proposed referendum.

Advance voting is taking place this week at the Jenkins County Courthouse and will continue through Friday, Feb. 1. During this time, absentee ballots may be voted without having to declare a reason for doing so.

All regular polling places will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Election Day and anyone who was registered to vote as of Jan. 7 may vote in this election.

Sample ballots appear elsewhere in this issue of The Millen News.