Today, voters in Georgia’s House District 28 went to the polls for the third time in a year to elect their next state representative.
Republicans Dan Gasaway and Chris Erwin have been embroiled in a contentious campaign to reclaim the seat both previously held. Gasaway served as HD 28 state representative for six years. Erwin served as state representative for two weeks before his election was overturned by a judge back in February.
Judge David Sweat threw out the results of both the May 22, 2018 HD 28 GOP primary and the Dec. 4, 2018 redo of that primary because of voting problems in Habersham County.
“I don’t think anyone would say this is normal,” says Georgia election director Chris Harvey in reference to holding the same election for the same seat three times in one year.
HD 28 PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS
Looking back
In the past year, Gasaway filed and successfully won two election lawsuits. Both times his lawyer was able to prove in court that there were more irregular and/or illegal votes cast in Habersham than the margin of victory.
Those lawsuits brought to light some glaring issues. The biggest, perhaps, was the fact that the Habersham County Elections Office had assigned 388 voters to the wrong state House districts. Election supervisor Laurel Ellison mailed letters to the voters on June 15, 2018 informing them of the mistake. Still, despite that overt admission of error, the Habersham County Commission continued its legal fight to have Gasaway’s lawsuit seeking a new election dismissed. It wasn’t until two-and-a-half months later, on Aug. 29, 2018, that the county finally conceded the mistake and dropped its legal fight against Gasaway. That same day the commission called for a new election.
A little over a month later, a Republican appointee to the Habersham County Board of Elections resigned over comments she made about actively campaigning against Gasaway. Election board members are expected to publicly remain neutral. In her resignation letter dated Oct. 5, 2018, Carole Lonergan wrote, “My resignation will be effective immediately so I can campaign for the candidate of my choice.”
Two months later, on Dec. 4, 2018, three people, including a relative of one of the men who recruited Chris Erwin to run for office and Chris Erwin’s wife’s boss, illegally voted in Habersham. Soon after the judge tossed out those election results, newly-elected Secretary of State John Raffensperger announced he was launching an investigation into possible voter fraud.
“Eliminating voter fraud is essential to strengthening the integrity of Georgia’s elections,” Raffensperger said at the time. “Voter fraud has no place in Georgia’s elections, and my office will exhaust every avenue to investigate instances of abuse and prevent further injustice.”
Pending investigations and legal action
That fraud investigation and an earlier one launched shortly after the May 22, 2018 primary are still ongoing. Harvey says he’s not sure when those investigations will be completed but he says, once they are, the results will be made public. “There’s a guarantee that every investigation done for the State Election Board has to be publicly presented to the board,” says Harvey.
The State Election Board’s next meeting is April 17. Harvey says neither of Habersham County’s election investigations are on the agenda.
House District 28 voters aren’t holding their breath for the results of those investigations, but they are holding onto hope for today’s election. Despite battling voter fatigue, people are going to the polls intent on achieving a fair and decisive election result.
Regardless of the outcome, Gasaway says he won’t file any more legal challenges. His motion to recoup attorney fees and litigation costs is still pending in Banks County Superior Court.
Polls are open today, Tuesday, April 9, at the Aquatic Center, First Baptist Church of Cornelia, and at Mt. Airy City Hall (city voters only) from 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
If you’re not sure whether you’re eligible to vote in this primary, click HERE or call your local election officials. You may reach them at (706) 839-0170 in Habersham, (706) 677-6260 in Banks County, and (706) 886-8954 in Stephens County.
