Did Georgia Secretary of State Use the Ballot to Promote TSPLOST?

The Transportation Leadership Coalition (TLC) is talking of a legal challenge to Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp for using promotional language on the official state ballot to promote passage of the TSPLOST.

The referendum is a transportation program funded by a sales and use increase that is subject to voter approval in the July 31 primary election.

On behalf of TLC, Atlanta attorney Pitts Carr has taken the initial action of questioning "political interference" on the upcoming ballot. TLC questions the legality of promotional language on the upcoming July 31 ballot. The anti-TSPLOST group believes it was added to encourage the passage of Referendum 1, the TSPLOST sales tax increase for road and transit projects. See the complete story on .

"The Secretary of State took responsibility for the language and the unprecedented act of modifying the ballot with no apparent legal authority," states a release press release by the group.

The language in question is specifically the words, “Provides for local transportation projects to create jobs and reduce traffic congestion with citizen oversight.”

“Whether you are for or against the proposed tax increase, we can all agree the ballot is sacred and neither the Secretary of State nor anyone else should be able to turn our ballot into political propaganda,” said Jack Staver, TLC chairman. He believes that Kemp should spring for the cost of reprinting the ballots in time for the election.

How do you feel about this issue? Should the ballots be reprinted without the alleged propaganda, or is it much ado about nothing?