Cobb Voters Barely Trickle in for SPLOST Vote

Updated 3:07 a.m.

Blame it on the rain, daylight savings time or a stand-alone referendum. No matter the reason, Cobb County voters barely trickled into the polls in Marietta this morning.

The Cobb Civic Center, a precinct with more than 2,500 voters, had only four show up within the first 100 minutes of voting today.

"Wish there were more people voting than people waiting for people to vote," said poll location manager Keith Johnson. "But our heaviest times are usually at lunch time and after work, especially between 4 and 7."

Marietta Sixth Grade Academy reported even fewer votes by 9 a.m.: Two.

"We still have hopes it will get better," a poll officer there said.

The slow voting pace continued throught the day. At 2:20 p.m., the polling location at had no line; only 53 people had voted.

Janine Eveler, director of Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration, agreed that the rain might have scared off a few voters. As of 10 a.m., the voter turnout rate showed that 10 percent of Cobb's 392,589 active registered voters were on track to go to the polls by tonight's 7 p.m. deadline.

"Things are a little slow, but they’re going well," Eveler said.

Cobb County citizens submit their final votes today concerning the latest Cobb Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) referendum, which, if approved, would extend collection of the current penny sales tax through 2015. 

All county voting locations open today at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.

The proposed four-year, $492 million extension of the SPLOST would fund a wide array of transportation and facilities improvements, including schools, public safety, parks and recreation and libraries. If approved, a significant number of projects fall within Marietta city limits.

The Cobb Board of Elections & Registration reported over the weekend that 6,522 Cobb citizens took part in advance voting that ended Friday. Groups supporting and opposed to the SPLOST extension held final rallies on the Marietta Square on Sunday. 

Here's previous coverage from Marietta Patch of the referendum campaign. For more information on the Web about the SPLOST project list, as well as the positions of the leading groups supporting and opposed to the sales tax extension: 

Official Cobb SPLOST site: cobbsplost2011.org

Citizens for Cobb's Future (pro-SPLOST): cobbsfuture.org

Vote No March 15 (anti-SPLOST): http://votenomarch15.com

Marietta Patch will provide continuing coverage throughout the day and and update the final numbers and East Cobb vote breakdown when the results are tabulated tonight. 

MARIETTA VOTING PRECINCTS (ZIP Codes 30008, 30060, 30061, 30063, 30064, 30069, 30090) To find your polling location, visit the Georgia Secretary of State voter page.