Cobb County Voters Decide $1.15 Billion Infrastructure Plan and Local Leadership

Voting ended at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Cobb County, Georgia, as election workers began counting ballots for a series of high-stakes local contests.

The most consequential item on the ballot is a referendum to renew a 1 percent Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or SPLOST. If voters approve the measure, the tax is projected to generate approximately $1.15 billion over a six-year period.

County officials intend to allocate these funds to transportation, water, and stormwater infrastructure, public safety, parks, facilities, and technology. The revenue will be distributed across Cobb County and its seven incorporated municipalities.

Voters are also selecting new leaders for local governing bodies. In the Cobb County Board of Commissioners District 3 race, Republican incumbent JoAnn K. Birrell faces Democratic challenger Kevin Redmon. On the Cobb County Board of Education, Republican incumbent David Chastain contests Democratic challenger Micheal Garza for Post 4.

Residents of the newly incorporated City of Mableton are weighing a separate municipal question. This referendum would grant city leaders full redevelopment powers under the Georgia Redevelopment Powers Law. Additionally, county voters are choosing two nonpartisan supervisors for the Cobb Soil and Water Conservation District from a field of three candidates: Brad Andrew Whitfield, incumbent John Ivey Loyd, and Robert Franklin Wigington.

Election workers will continue scanning ballots and posting updated figures through the night until every precinct reports. The certified outcomes will establish the leadership of the county board, determine the availability of local infrastructure dollars, and set development rules for Mableton.

This local vote is part of the 2026 midterm election cycle in Georgia, which also includes races for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and state executive positions.