Voters reject spaceport plan long pursued by Georgia county

https://www.npr.org/2022/03/08/ [login to see] /georgia-spaceport-goes-to-a-vote-as-proponents-try-to-invalidate-the-election
A Georgia county's plan to build a rocket launch pad for sending satellites into space got rejected by voters on Tuesday in a referendum forced by opponents who feared the project poses safety and environmental risks that outweigh any economic benefits.

With all precincts reporting in coastal Camden County, unofficial returns showed a sizable majority voting to deny county officials the authority to buy 4,000 acres for the spaceport project.

Camden County officials who spent a decade and $10.3 million pursuing the spaceport seemed determined to fight on in court. They asked the Georgia Court of Appeals to prohibit certification of the vote as the county presses a legal argument that the election should be declared invalid.

"Right now they are guilty of ignoring the will of the voters," said James Goodman, a spaceport critic and a city councilman in the Camden County community of St. Marys. He added: "What they will do if they persist is to demonstrate utter contempt for the voters."