2004 Georgia flag referendum

The 2004 Georgia flag referendum was a legislatively referred advisory referendum in Georgia. It took place on March 2, 2004, alongside the state's presidential primaries. The result was overwhelmingly in favor of the 2003 flag, which gained 73.1% of the vote.

2004 Georgia flag referendum
March 2, 2004 (2004-03-02)
 
Candidate 2003 flag 2001 flag
Popular vote 577,370 212,020
Percentage 73.1% 26.9%


Flag before election


Flag after election


Background

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The flag of Georgia adopted in 1956 contained part of the Confederate flag. In 1992, governor of Georgia Zell Miller expressed his intention to remove this Confederate imagery, describing it as the "last remaining vestige of days that are not only gone but also days that we have no right to be proud of."[1] While legislation was introduced to change the flag,[1] this was unsuccessful, and by 1993 Miller had conceded that changing the flag would not be possible.[2] A 2000 report by the Georgia State Senate found the introduction of the 1956 flag to be a symbol of racist protest against desegregation.[3]

Roy Barnes responded to calls for a new flag in 2001 by encouraging legislation on the matter.[4] The flag that was approved was originally designed around the time of the 1992 dispute by Cecil Alexander.[5] HB 16 was passed on January 30, 2001, enacting the new flag.[5] This design reduced the Confederate imagery to a small version of the 1956 flag. Critics labelled the flag "Barnes’s rag",[5] and the city of Trenton adopted a modified version of the 1956 flag in protest.[6]

In the 2002 gubernatorial election, Republican candidate Sonny Perdue defeated Barnes. Perdue ran on the promise to allow a statewide referendum on the flag of Georgia.[7] While it was implied that the referendum would be on the 1956 flag, the initial bill, HB 380, legislated for 2 referendums; the first on a redesign, and the second (if the redesign was rejected) between the pre- and post-1956 flags. However, following concerns from some legislators, this was amended to be 1 referendum between the 2001 and 2003 flags.[5] HB 380 was passed on the last day of the 2003 session.[5] An executive order by Perdue ordered the redesign to be displayed by entities required to display the Georgia flag, rather than the 2001 flag.[8]

Text

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The question on the ballot read:

Should the State of Georgia keep the 2003 Flag adopted at the 2003 Session of the General Assembly or return to the 2001 Flag adopted at the 2001 Session of the General Assembly?[9]

Both flags were pictured on the ballot.

Result

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Option Votes
Num. %
  2003 flag 577,370 73.14
  2001 flag 212,020 26.86
Total 789,390 100.00
Source: Georgia Secretary of State[10]

Results by county

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County 2003 flag 2003% 2001 flag 2001%
Appling 1,180 76.18% 369 23.82%
Atkinson 277 76.31% 86 23.69%
Bacon 477 71.62% 189 28.38%
Baker 337 74.72% 114 25.28%
Baldwin 3,424 77.77% 979 22.23%
Banks 1,346 72.72% 505 27.28%
Barrow 2,371 77.33% 695 22.67%
Bartow 4,226 72.33% 1,617 27.67%
Ben Hill 906 72.13% 350 27.87%
Berrien 789 72.05% 306 27.95%
Bibb 9,448 48.44% 10,058 51.56%
Bleckley 705 75.32% 231 24.68%
Brantley 639 68.12% 299 31.88%
Brooks 920 75.72% 295 24.28%
Bryan 1,407 79.90% 354 20.10%
Bulloch 2,819 76.25% 878 23.75%
Burke 1,765 77.11% 524 22.89%
Butts 1,633 75.11% 541 24.89%
Calhoun 460 77.83% 131 22.17%
Camden 1,181 67.03% 581 32.97%
Candler 527 78.42% 145 21.58%
Carroll 5,959 75.21% 1,964 24.79%
Catoosa 2,430 68.68% 1,108 31.32%
Charlton 349 59.97% 233 40.03%
Chatham 18,244 77.90% 5,177 22.10%
Chattahoochee 184 65.71% 96 34.29%
Chattooga 1,675 78.13% 469 21.88%
Cherokee 8,585 74.10% 3,001 25.90%
Clarke 8,952 79.94% 2,247 20.06%
Clay 254 71.55% 101 28.45%
Clayton 15,929 68.79% 7,228 31.21%
Clinch 212 67.52% 102 32.48%
Cobb 42,943 71.90% 16,787 28.10%
Coffee 1,288 74.32% 445 25.68%
Colquitt 1,976 74.62% 672 25.38%
Columbia 5,990 75.53% 1,941 24.47%
Cook 728 69.87% 314 30.13%
Coweta 10,002 74.47% 3,429 25.53%
Crawford 670 71.81% 263 28.19%
Crisp 1,085 75.24% 357 24.76%
Dade 712 72.06% 276 27.94%
Dawson 1,727 74.99% 576 25.01%
Decatur 1,556 79.96% 390 20.04%
DeKalb 67,357 72.99% 24,921 27.01%
Dodge 1,218 78.03% 343 21.97%
Dooly 828 79.23% 217 20.77%
Dougherty 8,335 74.57% 2,843 25.43%
Douglas 6,266 71.72% 2,417 28.28%
Early 657 73.82% 233 26.18%
Echols 111 64.91% 60 35.09%
Effingham 2,371 79.11% 626 20.89%
Elbert 1,386 72.49% 526 27.51%
Emanuel 1,386 78.75% 374 21.25%
Evans 657 78.59% 179 21.41%
Fannin 1,231 70.34% 519 29.66%
Fayette 8,620 73.98% 3,032 26.02%
Floyd 5,549 78.49% 1,521 21.51%
Forsyth 8,937 74.37% 3,080 25.63%
Franklin 1,397 74.27% 484 25.73%
Fulton 62,174 72.89% 23,125 27.11%
Gilmer 1,617 73.07% 596 26.93%
Glascock 141 73.82% 50 26.18%
Glynn 4,351 71.83% 1,706 28.17%
Gordon 2,443 75.03% 813 24.97%
Grady 1,384 71.12% 562 28.88%
Greene 2,048 77.46% 596 22.54%
Gwinnett 32,570 73.71% 11,614 26.29%
Habersham 2,345 76.51% 720 23.49%
Hall 10,949 72.98% 4,053 27.02%
Hancock 770 74.68% 261 25.32%
Haralson 1,687 75.62% 544 24.38%
Harris 1,810 73.58% 650 26.42%
Hart 2,097 72.31% 803 27.69%
Heard 752 69.50% 330 30.50%
Henry 10,699 60.15% 7,089 39.85%
Houston 7,340 77.19% 2,169 22.81%
Irwin 598 73.65% 214 26.35%
Jackson 2,851 78.65% 774 21.35%
Jasper 924 76.49% 284 23.51%
Jeff Davis 737 70.26% 312 29.74%
Jefferson 1,200 74.30% 415 25.70%
Jenkins 750 80.65% 180 19.35%
Johnson 573 80.03% 143 19.97%
Jones 2,350 76.55% 720 23.45%
Lamar 1,436 74.64% 488 25.36%
Lanier 271 69.31% 120 30.69%
Laurens 3,496 77.79% 998 22.21%
Lee 1,430 75.46% 465 24.54%
Liberty 1,856 74.09% 649 25.91%
Lincoln 752 74.60% 256 25.40%
Long 386 70.96% 158 29.04%
Lowndes 4,028 71.90% 1,574 28.10%
Lumpkin 1,780 75.71% 571 24.29%
Macon 1,042 82.70% 218 17.30%
Madison 1,724 79.34% 449 20.66%
Marion 441 68.37% 204 31.63%
McDuffie 1,291 72.86% 481 27.14%
McIntosh 932 74.56% 318 25.44%
Meriwether 1,792 75.55% 580 24.45%
Miller 355 83.53% 70 16.47%
Mitchell 1,520 75.17% 502 24.83%
Monroe 1,797 76.79% 543 23.21%
Montgomery 579 78.24% 161 21.76%
Morgan 1,709 77.40% 499 22.60%
Murray 1,312 71.62% 520 28.38%
Muscogee 11,068 71.83% 4,341 28.17%
Newton 4,978 74.60% 1,695 25.40%
Newton 4,978 74.60% 1,695 25.40%
Oconee 2,972 84.41% 549 15.59%
Oglethorpe 1,306 80.57% 315 19.43%
Paulding 5,167 73.90% 1,825 26.10%
Peach 1,605 77.65% 462 22.35%
Pickens 1,717 75.27% 564 24.73%
Pierce 850 79.37% 221 20.63%
Pike 1,339 77.04% 399 22.96%
Polk 3,410 81.02% 799 18.98%
Pulaski 600 80.32% 147 19.68%
Putnam 1,628 74.95% 544 25.05%
Quitman 152 72.04% 59 27.96%
Rabun 1,193 71.78% 469 28.22%
Randolph 540 74.90% 181 25.10%
Richmond 12,152 72.86% 4,661 27.14%
Rockdale 5,331 73.16% 1,956 26.84%
Schley 193 71.48% 77 28.52%
Screven 1,191 80.64% 286 19.36%
Seminole 670 77.64% 193 22.36%
Spalding 3,611 73.07% 1,331 26.93%
Stephens 1,665 73.87% 589 26.13%
Stewart 398 77.89% 113 22.11%
Sumter 1,788 77.98% 505 22.02%
Talbot 588 72.68% 221 27.32%
Taliaferro 186 79.83% 47 20.17%
Tattnall 1,071 79.22% 281 20.78%
Taylor 592 74.37% 204 25.63%
Telfair 639 77.93% 181 22.07%
Terrell 673 75.70% 216 24.30%
Thomas 2,418 72.81% 903 27.19%
Tift 1,693 77.38% 495 22.62%
Toombs 1,495 79.82% 378 20.18%
Towns 896 73.02% 331 26.98%
Treutlen 447 75.63% 144 24.37%
Troup 3,489 72.98% 1,292 27.02%
Turner 397 73.38% 144 26.62%
Twiggs 760 70.57% 317 29.43%
Union 2,036 75.60% 657 24.40%
Upson 1,950 76.71% 592 23.29%
Walker 3,276 74.88% 1,099 25.12%
Walton 3,898 78.83% 1,047 21.17%
Ware 2,097 77.07% 624 22.93%
Warren 511 74.49% 175 25.51%
Washington 1,871 79.28% 489 20.72%
Wayne 1,644 72.39% 627 27.61%
Webster 210 76.92% 63 23.08%
Wheeler 272 71.58% 108 28.42%
White 2,113 77.31% 620 22.69%
Whitfield 3,069 76.32% 952 23.68%
Wilcox 389 77.18% 115 22.82%
Wilkes 1,045 79.35% 272 20.65%
Wilkinson 890 77.06% 265 22.94%
Worth 1,189 71.20% 481 28.80%

Source:[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b Harrison, Eric; Stanley, Edith (May 29, 1992). "Georgia Governor Wants to Lower Confederate Flag : South: Under pressure from civil rights groups, he will push for removal of battle cross from state banner". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  2. ^ Smothers, Ronald (March 10, 1993). "South's Emblem To Be Retained On Georgia Flag". The New York Times. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  3. ^ Azarian, Alexander; Fesshazion, Eden (August 2000). "The State Flag of Georgia: The 1956 Change In Its Historical Context" (PDF). Senate Research Office. State of Georgia: State of Georgia. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 4, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  4. ^ Barnes, Roy (June 30, 2015). "How we got the Confederate emblem off Georgia's flag". CNN. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e "State Flags of Georgia". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  6. ^ "Trenton, Georgia (U.S.)". Flags of the World. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  7. ^ Green, Joshua (March 1, 2004). "The Southern Cross". The Atlantic. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  8. ^ "The State of Georgia – Executive Order" (PDF). sonnyperdue.georgia.gov. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  9. ^ "Sample ballots for March 2 Presidential Primary". The Cedartown Standard. February 26, 2004. p. 4b. Retrieved February 16, 2022 – via Google News.
  10. ^ a b "STATEWIDE ADVISORY FLAG REFERENDUM - Non-Partisan". Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)