A Fulton County Superior Court judge is scheduled to hear arguments Sept. 12 in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the results of the May 22 State House District 28 GOP primary.
District 28 State Rep. Dan Gasaway (R-Homer) is asking the court to vacate the results of that primary and order a new election.
A notice of hearing was filed Friday with the Fulton County Clerk of Superior Court. The hearing in front of Judge John Goger was originally set for Oct. 9. Today, Gasaway’s attorneys succeeded in getting it moved up so that if the judge does order a new election it can be included on the November ballot.
Georgia Secretary of State and Republican gubernatorial nominee Brian Kemp is one of three defendants named in the lawsuit. The others are Habersham County Board of Elections Supervisor Laurel Ellison and Gasaway’s District 28 primary challenger, Chris Erwin. They’re asking the judge to dismiss the case.
Marks: Gasaway “getting robbed of a fair election!”
“This is not a routine election contest case,” Gasaway says. “Both Mr. Kemp and the Habersham Elections Board have admitted that administrative errors were made affecting more voters than decided the election.”
Erwin won the primary by 67 votes.
Gasaway cites figures from the Habersham County Board of Elections obtained by his lawyer through an open records request that show 71 people voted in the wrong State House primary in Habersham on May 22. Two people voted in the wrong House district race in Stephens County. Gasaway’s attorney Jake Evans contends that 73 vote difference was enough to potentially change the outcome of the election.
Marilyn Marks agrees with Evans that a new election should be held. She’s the executive director of the Coalition for Good Governance. Her group is involved in a pending federal lawsuit challenging how Georgia’s elections are administered and run.
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“I don’t know Gasaway, nor would I necessarily agree with his politics, but he is getting robbed of a fair election!” she tells Now Habersham.
Not backing down
On May 30, Secretary Kemp’s office launched an investigation into the Habersham County primary after voters complained they were given the wrong ballots. The following day, with the investigation underway, Kemp certified the election results.
Certifying election results does not preclude an investigation, according to legal experts, but it does add an air of legitimacy to them.
“Before finishing the findings of the investigation when he knew there were big discrepancies, he went ahead and certified the results, knowing that it was inaccurate and probably assumed that Gasaway wouldn’t sue,” says Marks.
Gasaway did sue and has now spent more than two months and large sums of money fighting to overturn what he and others perceive as an unfair election.
“Kemp is trying to deny Gasaway a new election by arguing ridiculous procedural technicalities and trying to blame the counties,” Marks insists. She says it appears Kemp’s camp is arguing technicalities as a way to “run up the cost” in the hopes Gasaway will back down.
With a hearing date now set and the prospect of a new election looming, Gasaway insists he’s not backing down. He’s determined to see this legal challenge through in an effort to restore, not only his job, but also voter confidence. “If a new election was held today in Habersham County, there would be illegal votes cast and specific voters would be disenfranchised,” he says. “This should concern everyone. It is the constitutional responsibility of the county to make sure voter rolls are accurate.”
Erwin: “Will be ready to run and win again”
For his part, Erwin says he’s confident his election will stand. He’s listed as a defendant in the lawsuit and has joined the State Attorney General, Secretary of State and Habersham County Commission in their efforts to get the lawsuit dismissed.
“To this point, the lawsuit has required the expenditure of a significant amount of taxpayer money on legal fees and no one has found enough votes to overturn the election results,” Erwin tells Now Habersham. “Specifically, no one has shown evidence that more than 67 people voted in the election from an improper district. I am confident that we will see a decisive and quick resolution to this lawsuit.”
He continues, “I am proud of the support we received throughout the District and we worked hard to win the election in May. I am taking the job seriously, already meeting with leaders throughout the District to get up to speed on what are community needs, and meeting with leaders of the General Assembly to establish good working relationships to benefit our District. I am already working hard for the people of the 28th District. In the unlikely event of a special election, I will be ready to run and win again.”
As the parties involved prepare to go to court on Sept. 12, the State Election Board remains mum. Kemp spokesperson Candice Broce says the board’s investigation into the District 28 GOP primary is still “ongoing.”
Article updated to include comments from Chris Erwin
