The Georgia state ballot will have three separate amendments for you to vote for or against as designated by the General Assembly. Here’s a guide of what the ballot language means and what your Yes or No vote supports — or doesn’t.
Click on each one to read to get clear background on each measure.
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AMENDMENT 1: Should Georgia increase the size of property that can benefit from a property tax relief program for farmers?
“Shall the Constitution of Georgia, for the purpose of protecting family farmland, be amended so as to increase the maximum acreage to qualify for assessment and taxation as a bona fide conservation use property from 2,000 acres to 4,000 acres?”
This ballot measure has to do with Conservation Use Valuation Assessment, a tax relief program for farmers. Under it, a landowner can promise to maintain the land in a qualifying use like agriculture or timber for ten years in exchange for a reduced property tax rate. It allows farmers to pay property taxes based on the land’s productivity instead of on the fair market value of the land, which could be much higher.
If voters approve the constitutional amendment, owners of tracts of land up to 4,000 acres could be eligible.
Proponents say the change will help reduce the burden on struggling family farmers, while those opposed say it will only benefit big industrial farms. According to the Georgia Farm Bureau, the median farm size in Georgia is 70 acres and the mean size is 253 acres.
This measure would
- A “yes” vote supports extending the cap on properties eligible for the Conservation Use Valuation Assessment tax relief program from 2,000 acres to 4,000 acres.
- A “no” vote supports keeping the cap on properties eligible for the Conservation Use Valuation Assessment tax relief program at 2,000 acres.
AMENDMENT 2: Should probate judges be nonpartisan?
“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to require that all probate court judges be elected in nonpartisan elections?”
Most judicial roles in Georgia are nonpartisan, but that’s not the case for 53 of the state’s 159 county probate judges. Many of Georgia’s counties have already made their probate judge races nonpartisan by pursuing local legislative one at a time. This constitutional amendment would make the remaining county probate judge races nonpartisan in one fell swoop.
You can read more about the proposal here, including why some people think removing the partisan label is a bad idea.
This measure would
- A “yes” vote supports amending the state constitution to make all county probate judgeships nonpartisan.
- A “no” vote opposes amending the state constitution to make all county probate judgeships nonpartisan.
AMENDMENT 3: Should the state legislature use existing 911 fees to modernize emergency communications?
“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to authorize the General Assembly to dedicate certain existing revenues, including revenues reallocated by law, to a nonlapsing fund to be used exclusively for the expansion, maintenance, and operation of emergency 9-1-1 systems in this state?”
This measure is known as the Next Generation 911 Amendment. Next Generation 911 is an internet-based emergency communications system that can support voice, text, images and video streaming during an emergency. Proponents say the new technology allows dispatchers to the ability to more quickly route calls and to send first responders to emergencies with better information about the location and the situation.
If the measure passes, it will allow lawmakers to use the $1.50 monthly 911 fee Georgians already pay on their cell phone bills toward a special fund for the state’s transition to the new 911 system.
While legislators intend to use the money raised from the fund solely for the new 911 systems, some opponents have expressed concerns that the funds could be used for other law enforcement purposes.
This measure would
- A “yes” vote supports amending the state constitution to allow lawmakers to create and dedicate revenue to a fund titled the Georgia Next Generation 9-1-1 Fund.
- A “no” vote opposes amending the state constitution to allow lawmakers to create and dedicate revenue to a fund titled the Georgia Next Generation 9-1-1 Fund.
These breakdowns provided by our news partners at Georgia Recorder, a part of States Newsroom and a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.