Do-Over Election December 4
Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, October 12, 2018 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler
On September 18th, Banks County Superior Court Judge Sweat invalidated the May 22ndPrimary Election in House District 28, that includes three counties – Stephens, Banks, and Habersham. He ruled that a do-over election is necessary to correct inadvertent errors made by election officials in that district. Meaning, voters who participate in the December 4thelection will decide who represents House District 28 during the 2019-2020 term.
Background: The incumbent, Representative Dan Gasaway, ran for re-election in District 28, but lost the Primary in May by 67 votes. Soon after the election, Mrs. Gasaway learned that a co-worker who lives in House District 28would have voted for Representative Gasaway, but his name was not on her ballot.
When the situation was investigated, Representative Gasaway learned that incorrect ballots had been cast by residents living along the border between House Districts 28 and 10. He learned that 72 people in Habersham County had voted on wrong ballots, as did two people in Stephens County, but Banks County had no contested votes.Representative Gasaway’s lawsuit claimed that some voters living along the District 28/District 10 dividing line in Habersham County were given the wrong ballots for the May Primary Election.
Habersham County Commission Chairman Victor Anderson explained the difficulty of drawing local district lines with this statement: “On some properties they had to actually determine where the house is in relation to that line [on the reapportionment map showing district boundaries], even though part of the property was in 28 and part in 10. Where the house resides, determines where the voter lives. It was a fairly complicated process.”
On September 18th Banks County Superior Court Senior Judge David Sweat heard the case for seven hours before adjourning. Then, ten minutes after reconvening the next day he said, “More votes than 67 were cast in an incorrect district. The outcome of the election is in question because we do not know how those votes would have been voted. A new election must be held.”
Lesson learned: Know whose names should be on your ballot. If your absentee ballot lists the wrong names, request a correct absentee ballot. If you vote in-person and get the wrong ballot, request a correct ballot. The error was discovered and corrected this time, but, we’re reminded, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty,” even when dealing with the, usually, trustworthy ballot. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.