Georgia voters issue their verdicts on 3 constitutional amendments

ATLANTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) — Georgia voters cast their ballots on three constitutional amendments Tuesday.

The “yes” vote won with 53.9%. The first proposed amendment will change property tax evaluation for large landowners in agriculture and timber. The amendment will raise the maximum amount of land that can be put aside for conservation use, so that land can be taxed at a lower rate.

Proponents say it will help reduce the burden on family farmers, while those opposed say it will benefit industrial farms.

The “yes” vote has won for the second proposed amendment with 68.3 of the vote. Probate judges, who handle things like wills and estates, will no longer be identified by party affiliation on ballots.

“They can be involved in some other matters in counties, but the office is viewed as largely a nonpartisan office in terms of the types of issues that they would be dealing with. Even possibly less partisan than some of the other judicial offices in the state. And so that was part of the motivation to switching those races from being partisan to being explicitly nonpartisan,” said Gillespie.

However, some people have said they worry that taking away party identifiers could mean less information for voters.

The “yes” vote has won for the third amendment with 77.8% and will address aging statewide 911 infrastructure.

The proposed funding for Next Generation 911 will allow the state to set aside money to modernize 911 systems.

Critics have said that money could be used for other law enforcement purposes.

Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security said 88% of 911 centers in the state rely on aging infrastructure. The funding will help modernize several areas for emergency response, such as more precise location tracking, greater consistency and more ways to communicate with 911 through calls, texts, photos and videos.

Amending Georgia’s constitution is not a new process. Since the constitution’s ratification in 1983, 109 amendments have been put before the voters and 89 have passed.