A judge in DeKalb County, Georgia upheld the disqualification of a candidate, Tiffani Johnson, who had planned to run against Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee. This decision came after Johnson failed to appear at a hearing on a challenge to her eligibility and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger adopted the initial decision that she was not qualified to run. Johnson filed a petition for review in Fulton County Superior Court, which ultimately led to the ruling by Judge Stacey Hydrick upholding the decision that Johnson is ineligible to run for the seat. This leaves McAfee with only one challenger, civil rights attorney Robert Patillo, in the nonpartisan race for his seat as early voting for the May 21 election begins.
With the election quickly approaching, it may be too late to remove Johnson’s name from the ballot. According to Georgia law, if a candidate is deemed unqualified, their name should be withheld from the ballot or stricken from any ballots. However, in cases where there isn’t enough time to make these changes, notices must be prominently placed at polling places to inform voters that the candidate is disqualified and any votes cast for them will not be counted. The challenge to Johnson’s qualifications was filed by a Fulton County voter, Sean Arnold, who pointed out discrepancies in Johnson’s residency information on her qualification paperwork, which raised concerns about her eligibility according to the Georgia Constitution.
Administrative Law Judge Ronit Walker conducted a hearing on the matter and determined that Johnson’s failure to appear rendered her incapable of meeting her burden of proof to establish her eligibility for the position. Raffensperger adopted the judge’s findings and conclusions in disqualifying Johnson from running for superior court judge in the Atlanta Judicial Circuit. Johnson’s lawyer argued that her absence at the hearing was due to not receiving notice, but Judge Hydrick found that Johnson had been given sufficient notice ahead of the hearing and upheld the decision of disqualification. This ruling solidifies the position that Johnson is not eligible to run for the seat against McAfee in the upcoming election.
The legal process for challenging a candidate’s qualifications in Georgia allows any eligible voter to file a complaint with the secretary of state’s office within two weeks of the qualification deadline. In Johnson’s case, Arnold filed a challenge based on residency requirements for judges, citing discrepancies in her paperwork that raised doubts about her claim to be a resident of Fulton County. Despite Johnson’s attempt to argue that she had since moved to Fulton County, the judge’s decision to disqualify her was based on her failure to appear at the hearing and meet the burden of proof to establish her eligibility for the position. Moving forward, McAfee will face Patillo as the sole challenger in the nonpartisan race for his seat as the election draws near.
