Georgia GOP to Test Support for Ballot Drop Boxes, Buckhead Cityhood in May Primary

The Georgia Republican Party announced eight “advisory questions” Wednesday that it plans to include on Republican primary ballots for the May 24 election.

The state party said its executive committee voted on the eight questions, which cover a range of issues, including border security, social media censorship, transgender athletes, election integrity, and crime.

The group incorporated the Buckhead cityhood movement into the crime question, asking if voters believe residents of areas “like the Buckhead community” should be able to vote on creating “their own city governments and police departments.”

Buckhead is an affluent Atlanta suburb, and some residents have pushed for the community to deannex from Atlanta and become its own city.

The effort has been on and off for years but gained substantial traction in 2021 to the point that the movement, driven largely by a surge in violent crime, materialized into legislation that would allow Buckhead residents to vote on a ballot referendum that would determine if cityhood becomes reality. Republicans introduced one bill in the House and one bill in the Senate to be considered this legislative session, which lasts roughly two and a half months and runs through March 31.

Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R), the Senate president who has opposed the idea of a Buckhead City since at least last summer, moved the Senate version of the bill into a committee controlled by Democrats in January, however, and that stalled the bill indefinitely because of Democrat opposition to the measure.

Buckhead City Committee CEO Bill White, who has been at the forefront of the deannexation movement, praised the Georgia GOP’s decision to keep eyes on his effort by making mention of it on the statewide primary ballot.

“We are very much looking forward to receiv[ing] this important feedback from our fellow Georgians across the entire state,” White said in a statement.

“We often hear how Buckhead has lost so many visitors as families tell us they no longer feel safe coming from Athens, Blue Ridge, Gainesville and across the state to celebrate, dine, shop and visit for special family occasions or even for business,” White added.

White then suggested that Georgia state lawmakers could revive the Buckhead ballot referendum legislation next year, saying, “The results of this ballot question will be even more significant to share for the GA Legislature as they decide putting Buckhead City on the ballot for May or November 2023.”

The Georgia GOP provided a list of the questions it will be adding to the statewide primary ballot:

1. The Biden administration has stopped building the border wall and illegal border crossings have dramatically increased. Should securing our border be a national priority?
2. Education is the largest line item in the state budget. Should education dollars follow the student to the school that best fits their need, whether it is public, private, magnet, charter, virtual, or homeschool?
3. Florida has passed a law to stop social media platforms from influencing political campaigns by censoring candidates. Should Georgia pass such a law to protect free speech in political campaigns?
4. Two of the three current federal work visa programs are lottery based. Should issuance of federal work visas instead be based on job skills?
5. Biological males who identify as females have begun competing in female sports. Should schools in Georgia allow biological males to compete in female sports?
6. To prevent ballot tampering, state law prohibits political operatives from handling absentee ballots once they have been marked by a voter. To protect the integrity of our elections, should the enforcement of laws against ballot tampering be a priority?
7. Absentee drop boxes are vulnerable to illegal ballot trafficking. Should absentee ballot drop boxes be eliminated?
8. Crime has dramatically increased throughout the country including in our capital city of Atlanta. Should the citizens of residential areas like the Buckhead community of Atlanta be allowed to vote to create their own city governments and police departments

After releasing the questions, the Georgia GOP put out a statement clarifying that the questions are “in no way an endorsement of any candidate or campaign.”

Georgia Republican Party Executive Director @BrandonMoye’s statement clarifying the Republican Primary ballot advisory questions. pic.twitter.com/RIyoi1cR5L

— GAGOP (@GaRepublicans) March 24, 2022

A Trafalgar poll taken February 11–13 revealed a vast majority, or 75.1 percent, favored their state representatives supporting the Buckhead ballot referendum proposal.

Write to Ashley Oliver at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @asholiver.