Cobb Elections files Suit Against Cobb Commissioners Over Commission Map
In the strangest twist yet in the ongoing saga of the Cobb County Commission District maps, the Cobb County Board of Elections has voted 3-2 to authorize its counsel to file suit against the County Commission to determine which County Commission map is the legitimate map for the 2024 elections; the “State Map” drawn by the Georgia General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp or the “Home Rule Map” passed by the Democratic majority on the Cobb County Commission by a 3-2 vote?
Rather than rehash the issues and developments in the ongoing and multiple lawsuits against Cobb County on the Home Rule vs. the State Maps, if you’re not familiar with the issues and the progress, you can read my previous most recent posts on the topic here, here, and here.
According to the Marietta Daily Journal, “the elections board was hoping the courts would answer the question of constitutionality in two lawsuits that had already been launched.”
Cobb Superior Court Judge Kellie Hill has yet to rule on the constitutionality of the maps in a case brought by Republican County Commission candidate Alicia Adams. Adams’s case appeals her disqualification by the Cobb Board of Elections, which decided to use the Home Rule Map rather than the State Map. Adams lives in the District only according to the State Map. The Democratic nominee for the District lives in the district regardless which map is used.
With the primaries over and the general election well under way, time is running out to correct the maps in time for the November election. Urgency has also been an issue in the Adams’s case which was filed nearly four months ago on March 22. According to the MDJ, Adams’s attorney, Chuck Boring, has asked Judge Hill to rule as quickly as possible adding, “that if Hill decides the request from Adams is not the one to toss the home rule map to the curb, then she should rule as soon as possible so he could appeal the case.”
The MDJ notes that the Cobb Elections Board has set no date for filing the suit, “If the map is ruled to be unconstitutional, [Cobb County Board of Elections attorney Daniel] White said, there will have to be special primaries to correct the use of the home rule map in the May 21 primary for three seats on the Cobb Board of Commissioners.”
One thing that does not seem to be happening is any willingness locally to speed up the process, despite a stern warning from the Georgia Supreme Court that by dragging their feet, Cobb County could be facing “calamitous consequences.”
