Georgia high court won't halt spaceport vote certification

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Georgia’s highest court refused Thursday to interfere with election officials finalizing results of a referendum in which voters overwhelmingly rejected plans to buy land for a rocket launch pad.

The order by the Georgia Supreme Court denied an emergency motion by county commissioners seeking to temporarily halt certification of the Tuesday election, which aims to stop commissioners from closing on the purchase of 4,000 acres (1,600 hectares) for a commercial spaceport.

Coastal Camden County at the Georgia-Florida line spent a decade and $10.3 million pursuing construction of Spaceport Camden, only to see voters renounce the project by a nearly 3-to-1 margin. The referendum was forced by opponents who say the spaceport would pose serious environmental and safety risks that outweigh any economic benefits.

Camden County commissioners have shown no sign of abandoning the project. They were still reviewing the court’s order Thursday afternoon and had no immediate comment, said John Simpson, a spokesman for the spaceport project.

Spaceport critic John Goodman said it was time for commissioners to “finally stop it, no more legal challenges.”

“The will of the people should be clear,” said Goodman, an elected councilman for the Camden County city of St. Marys. "If they are interested at all in the will of the people, what else is there to do?”

Election officials have said the referendum results are expected to be certified by Friday.

Camden County officials have long insisted the spaceport would bring economic growth not just from rocket launches, but also by attracting related industries as well as tourists to the community of 55,000 people.

Critics including the National Park Service have said rockets exploding after launch could rain fiery debris onto...