Today is the last day to cast an early ballot for Gwinnett County’s MARTA referendum.
Friday caps a three-week early voting period. It’s the first time Gwinnett opened early polling places seven days a week and stayed open for 12 hours on Saturdays and Sundays. County elections workers reported more than 25,000 people had cast early ballots as of Wednesday evening.
READ | How would MARTA in Gwinnett affect your neighborhood? Here's the plan
MORE | Gwinnett's MARTA referendum: A comprehensive voter's guide
Today, voters can cast ballots from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at eight locations across the county. Those locations include the county elections office at 455 Grayson Highway in Lawrenceville and county parks in Buford, Dacula, Suwanee, Snellville, Norcross, Duluth and Stone Mountain.
READ | Gwinnett MARTA referendum: Early voting locations set
The ballot question asks Gwinnett County residents whether the county should execute a contract with MARTA, enacting a 1 percent sales tax and launching a 30-year transit expansion plan that will include an extensive expansion in bus service but would also bring the MARTA rail to the county for the first time:
• A Gold Line heavy rail station near Jimmy Carter Boulevard in Norcross
• Three bus rapid transit routes covering 50 miles
• Eight rapid bus routes covering 110 miles
• Nine express bus routes to downtown Atlanta and other MARTA rail stations covering 250 miles
• 11 park-and-ride lots
• Three direct connect routes to MARTA stations including Chamblee, Dunwoody and Medical Center
• 12 local bus routes covering 160 miles
• Six zones for on-demand “flex” transit service
• Paratransit service for those with physical disabilities
• Sunday service and extended evening hours on all bus routes
If you don’t cast a ballot by the end of the day Friday, your last opportunity is on Tuesday, March 19 — the referendum’s official Election Day. Ballots must be cast at your assigned polling place on Election Day, and polling places can be found using the My Voter Page website run by the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.
AJC’s COMPLETE COVERAGE
Gwinnett voters will go the polls on March 19 in a historic special election that could change the face of metro Atlanta’s suburbs.
Residents there will decide if Georgia’s second most populous county will join the MARTA system and chip in a new 1 percent sales tax to pay for billions of dollars in transit improvements. A successful referendum in Gwinnett may ignite action for more mass transit in other metro Atlanta counties that have long been resistant to the idea.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will provide comprehensive coverage leading up to the vote and on Election Day. Our reporters will help readers understand the issues, the key players, what’s at stake, and provide information for voters to make an informed decision at the ballot box.
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