Georgia 2016 ballot measures
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Four ballot measures were certified to appear on the Georgia ballot on November 8, 2016. Three of the measures were approved and one was defeated.
Getting measures on the ballot
Georgia does not allow any form of citizen-initiated ballot measures, so all ballot measures must be referred by the legislature. The state legislative session ran from January 11 through March 25, 2016, during which time the Georgia Legislature was able to place legislatively referred constitutional amendments on the ballot. The legislature can put a proposed amendment on the ballot upon a two-thirds majority vote in both the legislative chambers. The legislature can repeal a vote to put a proposed amendment on the ballot with a two-thirds vote of both chambers when the vote is done at least two months prior to the election. Constitutional amendments must be approved by a majority of the electorate.
2016 advisory questions
One advisory question, regarding school choice, was put before Republican voters during the primary on May 24, 2016. About 75 percent of Republicans voted in favor of the question, and about 25 percent voted against it. Four advisory questions, regarding Medicaid, paid family leave, "natural vegetative buffers," and automatic voter registration were put before Democratic voters during the primary. All four questions had more "yes" votes than "no" votes, with about 84 percent of Democrats voting in favor of the first question and about 16 percent voting against it, about 89 percent voting in favor of the second question and about 11 percent voting against it, about 88 percent voting in favor of the third question and about 13 percent voting against it, and about 80 percent voting in favor of the fourth question and about 20 percent voting against it.[1][2]
On the ballot
The 2016 regular session of the Georgia State Legislature ended on March 25, 2016. The legislature put four ballot measures on the 2016 ballot; two were approved for the ballot in 2015 and two were referred to voters in the 2016 legislative session.
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LRCA | Amendment 1 | Education | State intervention in “chronically failing” public schools |  |
| LRCA | Amendment 2 | Gov't finances | Revenue for the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund |  |
| LRCA | Amendment 3 | State judiciary | Judicial Qualifications Commission | |
| LRCA | Amendment 4 | Taxes | Use of tax revenue from fireworks | |
Not on the ballot
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LRCA | Marijuana Legalization Amendment | Marijuana | Authorizes the legislature to legalize recreational marijuana | 
|
| LRCA | Independent School System Amendment | Education | Allows municipalities to establish independent school districts |
|
| LRCA | Sales Tax for Education Distributed on Per Student Basis Amendment | Education | Distributes revenue for education from the sales tax on a per-student basis among all the school systems within a county |
|
State profile
| Demographic data for Georgia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Georgia | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 10,199,398 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 57,513 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 60.2% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 30.9% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 3.6% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.1% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 9.1% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 85.4% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 28.8% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $49,620 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 21.1% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Georgia. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Georgia
Georgia voted Republican in five out of the six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in Georgia, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.[3]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Georgia had five Retained Pivot Counties, 2.76 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More Georgia coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Georgia
- United States congressional delegations from Georgia
- Public policy in Georgia
- Endorsers in Georgia
- Georgia fact checks
- More...
External links
- Georgia Proposed Constitutional Amendments General Election November 8, 2016
- Georgia Secretary of State
- Secretary of State's elections website
See also
- 2016 ballot measures
- List of Georgia ballot measures
- Campaign finance requirements for Georgia ballot measures
Footnotes
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election May 24, 2016," accessed June 2, 2016
- ↑ 13 WMAZ, "Ballot Questions Await Georgia Voters," May 17, 2016
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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