Lengthy ballots, straw poll questions requiring more time for voters to decide

May 15—It's taking voters much longer to vote in Baldwin County than usual.

The same is true in several counties across Georgia.

One of the biggest reasons appears to be the number of straw poll questions voters are being asked on both Democratic and Republican ballots.

Both party ballots contain eight questions.

"It's taking an average of between eight and 10 minutes for a lot of voters," according to Baldwin County Chief Deputy Registrar Randy Morrow. "That's the kind of time we've seen it taking voters during early voting."

Today (Saturday) marks the last Saturday to cast ballots during the early voting period.

Early voting is being held at the Baldwin County Voter Registrar's Office, located in the Baldwin County government complex on North Columbia Street in Milledgeville. Voting hours are from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Early voting continues through next Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.

After early voting ends, voters will only be allowed to cast ballots on Election Day, Tuesday, May 24, unless they are voting absentee.

On Election Day, all voting precincts in Milledgeville and Baldwin County will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Morrow suggested voters study a sample ballot, either Democratic or Republican, before voting.

"I think it might save voters a lot of time if they would study the ballot of their choice before coming to the office," Morrow said.

In order to help voters, here is a list of both the Democratic and Republican straw poll questions. Voters are simply asked to respond with a yes or no to each of the following questions:

Democratic Ballot Questions:

1. Should the United States remove obstacles to economic advancement by forgiving all student loan debt?

2. Should all Georgians have access to paid parental leave following the birth or adoption of a child?

3. Should every 3 and 4-year-old in Georgia be given the opportunity to attend a high-quality preschool free of charge?

4. Should Georgia voters have the right to gather signed petitions to directly place questions on the ballot, whether to change the law or poll the public?

5. Should families earning less than $150,000 per year receive an expanded tax credit to help cover the costs of raising children?

6. Should the State of Georgia expand access to health care for over half a million Georgians by utilizing federal funds to expand Medicaid?

7. Should the State of Georgia expand voter access by increasing early voting opportunities, allow same-day voter registration, removing obstacles to voting by mail, and installing secure ballot drop boxes, accessible at all times, through election day?

8. Should marijuana be legalized, taxed, and regulated in the same manner as alcohol for adults 21 years of age or older, with proceeds going to towards education, infrastructure and health care programs?

Republican Ballot Questions:

1. The Biden Administration has stopped building the border wall and illegal board crossings have dramatically increased. Should securing the 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 federal work visas instead be issued on job skill?

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 the 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?