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Election signs cause confusion
Address education sales tax in border counties
WEB ready splost 1
This sign, encouraging people to vote for a sales tax for education, is on Peachtree Parkway, about a mile from the Fulton County line. Fulton is holding a vote on the issue Tuesday, not Forsyth. - photo by Jim Dean

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* Election Day draws near.

* For election results, check back at forsythnews.com Tuesday night.

Forsyth County isn’t the only government holding a sales tax referendum Tuesday, and a smattering of signs across the region has stirred some confusion.

 

Signs encouraging voters to vote yes on a sales tax for education have cropped up in the county, but the Forsyth vote has nothing to do with financing education.

 

The signs apparently are misplaced promotions for school sales tax votes taking place in neighboring counties. Fulton, Gwinnett and Cherokee counties vote on sales tax issues for education Tuesday.

 

Voters in Cumming and Forsyth County will be voting “yes” or “no” on proposed six-year extension of the 1-cent sales tax for county government, not education.

 

The tax is projected to collect $200 million between June 2013-19.

 

The money would pay to build a new courthouse, expanded detention center, road improvements and animal shelter, among other projects.

 

Voters approved an education sales tax measure for Forsyth County Schools in March.

 

Proponents of Tuesday’s referendum on the sales tax extension in Forsyth County say various other election signs should be ignored and likely were erroneously placed randomly in the county.

 

SPLOST opponents, however, contend the signs have been placed to mislead voters.

 

Though some have sprouted in Forsyth, signs advertising an education sales tax do not apply here, said Jayne Iglesias, co-chair of pro-SPLOST group Citizens for Progress.

 

“They’re the same signs that are up on Jones Bridge [Road], so it must be for Fulton County,” Iglesias said. “Our e-SPLOST vote was in March.”

 

She’s heard that signs for the Gwinnett County referendum have also made their way into Forsyth.

 

The signs that read ‘Vote yes for SPLOST Nov. 8,’ are the only ones Citizens for Progress have put up, Iglesias said. The pro-SPLOST group did so at the end of last week.

 

Steve Voshall, chairman of the Forsyth County Tea Party, said signs asking voters to vote “yes” to support education appeared deep within the county borders.

 

That is, they were there until Monday, said Voshall, who has become a spokesman for opposition to the sales tax extension.

 

On Monday he sent e-mails complaining about the misleading signs to Citizens for Progress, the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce and other interested parties.

 

“Right after I sent the e-mails this morning, those signs all disappeared,” he said. “I think that speaks volumes.”

 

The similar and vague signs could have been put up to confuse voters, Voshall said.

 

“It’s a known statistical fact that voters who think education is tied to SPLOST are more likely to vote yes,” he said.