The Covington News is dedicating its online poll to the primary election for the next month, as it tries to gauge how voters are feeling with early voting starting Monday and the election taking place July 31.

The T-SPLOST was first up, and online voters overwhelmingly expressed opposition (74 percent) to the additional one-percent sales tax that will be dedicated to major road projects in the region. Poll results are completely unscientific.

Secondly, The News asked online voters who they plan to vote for in the Democratic primary for Newton County Chairman. Almost 50 percent (154) of those who took the poll voted they would not vote in the Democratic primary. Marcus Jordan took the lead over Kathy Morgan (incumbent) with 82 votes while Morgan had 74.

In a political forum held recently by The Covington News and Covington-Newton County Chamber of Commerce, both Morgan and Jordan said they believed the chairman's role was still a full-time one and still deserved a full salary. Jordan said the chairman's role is to keep politics out of day-to-day operations, while Morgan said the chairman still has responsibilities assigned under the county's charter. She said she still signs all the checks, approves purchase orders, handles public works and attends many, many meetings as the representative of the county.

Next up: District 1 Board of Commissioners

For the next few days,voters can weigh in on the race between Republican District 1 Board of Commissioners candidates John Douglas and John Strauss.

Go to covnews.com to vote and check the website or newspaper for the results.