Fed judge denies petition to remove candidates
Ƈ The Catoosa GOP wanted to stop four candidates from appearing on the ballot.
A federal judge declined to grant a petition by the Catoosa County Republican Party to restrict candidates they don’t feel represent the party’s values from the ballot.
U.S. District Court Judge William Ray heard the Catoosa County GOP arguments on April 17 and this week entered an order declining to stop the elections process.
“The (Catoosa GOP) asks the court to strike the candidates’ names, to order that no ballots cast for the candidates be counted, and to order that the requested questions be included on the ballot,” the judge wrote in the order. “After review, the court denies the (temporary injunction and restraining order) because the requested relief would not be in the public’s best interest.”
The GOP requested that Judge Ray essentially overrule a superior court judge’s order to qualify candidates the party said it didn’t feel reflected its “political positions or values.”
The case is representative of a move by far-right subgroups within the Georgia Republican Party — such as the Georgia Republican Assembly — to restrict which candidates get a valued “R” next to their name on the ballot in deeply conservative districts.
In general, local political parties qualify candidates who meet certain state rules, pay their fee and swear an oath of allegiance to the party. At this point, the GOP in Catoosa, Chattooga, Pickens and Whitfield counties also have enacted rules where an
executive committee chooses who the party will — or will not — allow to run for office as a Republican.
The same procedure was proposed to the Georgia Republican Party during the convention by the attorney representing the Catoosa GOP, Jordan Johnson, but was not brought forward for debate.
The Catoosa GOP was the first to actually block four candidates — three incumbents on the county board of commissioners, plus a former commission chair — from qualifying as Republicans on the grounds they don’t adhere to the party’s platform.
The candidates are Catoosa County Commission Chair Larry Black, District 1 Commissioner Jeff Long, District 2 Commissioner Vanita Hullander and Steven Henry, a former commission chairman. All four candidates had previously won their seats running as Republicans.
The county party hit a roadblock in early March when Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Don Thompson ordered the candidates be allowed to qualify to run on the Republican primary ballot. The county Board of Elections then placed the four candidates back on the ballot as Republicans.
The Catoosa GOP filed a federal complaint stating the ruling is a violation of their First Amendment rights.
During the hearing, Judge Ray asked attorney Johnson why he should step in to rule on a case already making its way through the state appellate process.
“You raised (the issue), you didn’t get decision you think is correct,” Ray said. “Why do you get to go to two forums?... You had your shot, you didn’t win it.”
The Georgia Court of Appeals passed the Catoosa GOP’S appeal up the appellate ladder and stated the Georgia Supreme Court has exclusive appellate jurisdiction over all cases of election contest.
That case is set for the August calendar. Early voting in the general primary is scheduled to begin April 29 and the primary to decide the party’s candidates will be held on May 21.
JUDGE RESERVES RULING ON BALLOT QUESTIONS
Another question before the court concerned nonbinding ballot questions submitted by the party.
In this case, the Catoosa GOP asked if “anti-trump democrats” should be allowed to qualify as Republicans because of a court order, and stated that the four candidates, who were listed by name, were not approved to run as Republicans.
“The court first notes that the questions do appear to be an improper attempt to use the ballot to influence voters — for example the questions imply that the candidates are ‘anti-trump Democrats...’,” Judge Ray wrote. “But, despite this, it is not clear whether the proposed ballot questions would be prohibited as “electioneering” or “soliciting votes” under Georgia law or whether the Catoosa County Republican Party would be considered a “person” for these statues. However, the court not need answer these questions today. In fact, given the limited briefing and time for the court’s consideration of these complex issues, the court reserves ruling on them for now.”
After the elections board placed the candidates on the ballot, the Catoosa GOP submitted three ballot questions. Two of the three were determined by the Georgia Secretary of State’s office as ineligible as “electioneering.” That essentially means a party or group is attempting to sway the elections process.
However, the secretary of state’s office then backed off and left it to the Catoosa elections board to decide whether to include the ballot questions.
By majority vote, the elections board chose not to include the two ballot questions. The Catoosa GOP’S contention is that neither the state nor the elections board has a say as to what political parties list as their ballot questions.