The Cobb County Board of Elections voted Monday to prepare litigation against Cobb County government asking a judge to rule whether the electoral map that has been contested for nearly two years is constitutional.
The county has faced a litany of lawsuits over its map, which the County Commission passed in 2022 in rebuke of state lawmakers who drew a sitting commissioner out of her district mid-term. Redistricting powers historically have belonged to the state, but county officials made the novel argument that they had the authority to draw their own lines under the home rule provision in the state constitution.
One lawsuit over the map went before the Georgia Supreme Court this year after a lower court ruled the map is unconstitutional. The supreme court dismissed the case on procedural grounds, while one justice indicated in his legal opinion that Cobb County “has a substantial risk of losing” on the merits of its unprecedented argument.
The county is operating under its contested map, and the elections board held May primary elections based on it.
In a lawsuit still pending, a potential candidate for District 2 sued the elections board after she was disqualified from running under the district map. Her lawsuit alleges the county map is unconstitutional and she should be allowed to run for office.
Judge Kellie Hill held a hearing in that case in June, but has yet to issue a ruling.
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
Daniel White, the elections board’s attorney, told Hill in the hearing that if the map is thrown out and the primary elections need to be redone, it would be nearly impossible for the elections department to complete a new primary before the November general election.
In lieu of a ruling from Hill, the Board of Elections voted to prepare its own legal action to ask for a ruling on whether the map is constitutional.
Elections Board Chairwoman Tori Silas said because the elections board only meets once a month, it made sense to authorize White to prepare the filing to ensure the board is proactive in getting a final determination on the map.
“We don’t know how Judge Hill will rule. However she rules, we obviously will abide by that ruling,” Silas said. “But we are attempting to be proactive.”
Two board members, Jennifer Mosbacher and Stacy Efrat, voted against preparing the lawsuit. Mosbacher said she worries another lawsuit could further complicate things.
“It has the potential to extend the process even further,” she said.
The elections board has maintained a neutral position on the map’s legality but has seen the impact on voters, Silas said.
“There’s a significant amount of confusion,” she said. “That, again, confusion is a result of two competing maps — neither of which were drawn by the Board of Elections, nor is it our obligation or responsibility to draw maps. We simply implement the maps.”
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