81% of Brookhaven voters backed a bigger senior and disability homestead exemption. DeKalb renewed its school sales tax, and Conor Sen won District 2 unopposed.
Brookhaven voters approved a bigger homestead exemption for senior citizens and disabled people Tuesday, unofficial results show. The question passed 18,498 to 4,264, with 81.3% voting yes.
DeKalb County voters also renewed the 1-cent school sales tax, E-SPLOST VII, by a similar margin. Conor Sen, the only candidate, won the special election for the District 2 seat on the City Council.
The figures come from DeKalb County’s unofficial results on the Georgia Secretary of State’s results site. All 191 DeKalb precincts had reported by Wednesday morning. Results are unofficial until the county certifies them.
What it means for you
- Eligible seniors and disabled homeowners get a bigger break on city taxes. The ballot raised the exemption “from $160,000.00 to $200,000.00.” The city’s proposed budget says the change applies from the 2027 tax year and saves eligible seniors another $154 a year.
- The school sales tax stays at 1 cent. E-SPLOST VII picks up when the current tax ends in mid-2027. It is a renewal, not a new tax, the DeKalb County School District says.
- No Brookhaven race goes to a runoff. Every contest on Brookhaven ballots was settled Tuesday, so there is no Dec. 1 runoff for city voters.
- Your own districts for the state legislature and Congress are on the state’s My Voter Page.
The senior and disability exemption
This question was on Brookhaven ballots only. It amends the city’s charter to raise the current homestead exemption for senior citizens and disabled people from $160,000 to $200,000.
| Senior and disability exemption | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 18,498 | 81.3% |
| No | 4,264 | 18.7% |
Brookhaven’s 14 precincts reported 22,762 votes on the question. Most came in early: 12,500 of the yes votes were cast during advance voting.
The city describes the same change in different figures. Its 2027 proposed budget says the exemption for eligible seniors rises from $500,000 to $600,000 of appraised value. The ballot does not say whether its own figures are appraised or assessed value. Our ballot story has both versions.
The budget puts the extra saving at $154 a year on city property taxes. That takes an eligible senior’s total annual saving from $770 to $924, according to the city. The city tax is the smallest part of a Brookhaven bill. The city’s Budget in Brief puts its rate at 4.310 mills, against 14.379 for DeKalb County and 22.780 for the school district. Our 2027 budget story has more on the city’s tax rate.
E-SPLOST VII, the school sales tax
DeKalb voters renewed the 1-cent school sales tax 233,691 to 54,760, or 81.0% yes.
The renewal lets the tax raise up to $1,046,154,324 over five years. Of that, up to $946,773,776 goes to the DeKalb County School District, which runs Brookhaven’s public schools. The yes vote also approved up to $500 million in general obligation bonds for the district.
The district has not yet published a list of E-SPLOST VII projects. Its E-SPLOST page says the Board of Education “is currently considering E-SPLOST projects.” E-SPLOST money is paying for the $148.4 million expansion of Cross Keys High School, the district said when it broke ground in August 2025.
City Council, District 2
Conor Sen received 4,954 votes in the District 2 special election. Sen was the only candidate on the ballot. The seat came open when Jen Owens resigned, according to the ballot. The winner serves the rest of Owens’ term.
The city’s 2027 Budget in Brief already lists Sen as the District 2 council member.
The three state amendments
All three amendments to the Georgia Constitution passed statewide, the Secretary of State’s statewide results show. DeKalb voters rejected the first one.
| Amendment | Statewide yes | DeKalb yes |
|---|---|---|
| 1: conservation use land, 2,000 to 4,000 acres | 53.9% | 45.9% |
| 2: nonpartisan elections for probate judges | 68.4% | 62.8% |
| 3: a fund for 911 systems | 77.7% | 79.4% |
Top of the ticket
Two statewide races, with all 159 Georgia counties reporting:
- U.S. Senate: Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, beat Republican Mike Collins 2,463,132 to 1,711,322. DeKalb gave Ossoff 88.7% of its vote.
- Governor: Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms beat Republican Rick Jackson 2,268,462 to 1,908,261. DeKalb gave Bottoms 84.8%.
DeKalb recorded 324,141 ballots from 508,641 registered voters, a turnout of 63.7%.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page is from the unofficial results DeKalb County and the Secretary of State published on the state’s results site. The county’s results do not separate Brookhaven’s vote on the countywide questions, so the E-SPLOST and amendment figures are for all of DeKalb. Our voting page links the county’s results and will note when they are certified.
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