How Has Turnout Been for Gwinnett SPLOST Voting?

A small percentage of Gwinnett voters apparently will decide the county's sales tax rate for the next three years.

According to unofficial Gwinnett County figures, 4,078 people have voted via absentee ballot or advance voting on whether to renew the county's 1 percent Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST).

Advance voting began in mid-October and ended Friday (Nov. 1). The final day of voting is Tuesday.

That voter turnout represents about 1 percent of the county's 407,000 registered "active" voters, according to information with the Georgia Secretary of State's Office.

With turnout so light, a handful of voters could swing the election either way.

Former Gwinnett Board of Commissioners Chairman Wayne Hill has said "the negatives always vote."

Gwinnett County officials can take no advocacy position. But current Chairman Charlotte Nash has noted that "a lot of things wouldn't get done" if the tax, which has been in place since 2009, is not renewed.

The SPLOST does not figure into regular Gwinnett County budget procedures, which already are under way for 2014.

-- What's your position on SPLOST? Tell us in the comments below.

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