Replies

I had help, someone else did the research and kindly sent out an email.
Dear Friends & Family,
If you haven’t voted yet I would urge you to vote “NO” to all of the amendments on the ballot. Some call for the Constitution of Georgia to be amended and others call for creation of more bureaucracies, costing untold millions of dollars in the future, and another calls for you to tax yourself $24 MILLION!!
One Amendment (#4) so-called Marcy’s Law is particularly ambiguous. The TV ad supporting this amendment is compelling; a victim stating her abuser was let out of prison and she was not notified. She begs the TV audience to help the victim by voting in favor of this amendment. Who wouldn’t want the victim to be helped? BUT….when the Amendment is read carefully, you will note that it states: “…the Constitution shall be amended so as to provide ‘certain rights’ to victims against whom a crime has allegedly been perpetrated and allow victims to assert such rights.” READ THIS CAREFULLY…..WHAT “CERTAIN RIGHTS” ARE THEY REFERRING TO? NOWHERE DOES IT MENTION THE PERPETRATOR, NOR THAT THE VICTIM HAS THE RIGHT TO KNOW WHEN THE PERPETRATOR IS BEING RELEASED FROM PRISON. “The victim can assert such rights”….what rights? Certain ones? What are they referring to? Will it be left up to a judge to decide what “certain rights” the victim has? No guarantee of being notified of anything. Please do not vote in favor of changing our state Constitution to contain something so non-specific as Amendment #4…”Marcy’s Law.” This Amendment will not help Marcy, or you, at all!
The SPLOST tax is supposed be for any unexpected expense for the county, not covered by taxes. It is not a slush fund, nor is it petty cash to be used at the whim of the one administering it. I would urge you to read the things that the money is supposed to be used for. The items to be funded are supposed to be SPECIFIC and I certainly don’t consider “equipment, upgrades, improvements, economic development, etc., etc,” to be specific! I also don’t consider the county needs to spend any of this money for “land acquisition” which puts the money into certain landowners pockets when the county does not have need to acquire more land. It is expected to raise $24 MILLION dollars from YOUR pockets over and above the taxes you have to pay the county. You will also notice if you carefully read the sample ballot that “a ‘yes’ vote means you give your approval of the issuance of general obligation debt of Union County in the principle amount of TEN MILLION dollars ($10,000,000).” DO NOT TAX YOURSELVES, THE COUNTY DOES AN OUTSTANDING JOB OF IT!
Please stop at the courthouse and pick up a sample ballot and READ the Amendments carefully before you cast your vote. They are sometimes intentionally written so ambiguously to confuse voters. BE AN INFORMED VOTER! Let’s don’t make this a RED WAVE, let’s make it a RED TSUNAMI!!
Blessings,

XXX