Did you know that your political choices are being severely limited? Did you also know that there is currently a bill in the Georgia House, known as the Voter Choice Act, that would change this and increase the political choices available to you on the ballot?

Presently, Rep. Kathy Cox of the 105th district opposes this bill because she says that the intent of the ballot access laws is to “prohibit a small group of people from gaining power and inflicting the majority of the population with their ideas through the use of government power.”

I agree completely. Our government should protect us from this manner of oppression. However, let us examine a few facts from the 1998 election to see if this is true.

Rep. Cox only faced an opponent in the primaries (as did 59 percent of the current Georgia legislators who ran unopposed). This means that the decision of who will represent Fayette County District 105 was determined solely by the primaries.

Rep. Cox received a total number of votes equal to only 5.4 percent of the total eligible voters in Fayette County; and in the special runoff between her and Dan Lakly, she received a total number of votes equal to only 6.4 percent of the total eligible voters in Fayette County.

It seems to me that Rep. Cox was elected by quite a small group of people, the small “faction” that voted in the Republican primary.

If you, like myself, chafe at the fact that your political choices were not allowed to participate in this election, then call Rep. Cox at 404-656-0314 and tell her you want choices. Tell her that you do not want only 6.4 percent of the total eligible voters in Fayette County to decide who is going to represent you in government. Tell her you want choices in the elections, not just the primaries.

After all, if your political choice is limited to only one name on the ballot on election day, why vote at all?

William Norris
Student at McIntosh High School
Peachtree City

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