Supreme Court of Georgia dismisses Catoosa County GOP ballot challenge

(The Center Square) – The Supreme Court of Georgia dismissed a challenge by the Catoosa County Republican Party to keep four candidates off the primary ballot, as the primary and the runoff election have already occurred.

Republicans challenged the candidacies of Steven M. Henry, Larry C. Black, Jeffrey K. Long and Vanita C. Hullander, saying their views did not align with the party.

The case was appealed to Georgia's highest court.

The court said Tuesday, in a unanimous decision , that justices had "repeatedly" dismissed appeals when the election had already taken place.

Henry defeated Black, the incumbent, in a June runoff for Catoosa County Commission chairman. Hullander, the incumbent, lost in the runoff, while Long defeated a challenger for his commission seat in the May primary election.

The county party could have asked for an expedited or emergency ruling but did not, the court said.

"Once the appeal was transferred to this Court on April 12, at which point the election was less than six weeks away – possibly enough time to consider the merits of the CCRP Defendants’ appeal, but only if the timetable for deciding the case were expedited – the CCRP Defendants did not seek expedited review or emergency relief," the court said.

It's the second court loss for Catoosa Republicans in a week.

The party filed suit in U.S. District Court for Northern Georgia, saying its First Amendment rights were violated based on freedom of association and freedom of speech. The case was dismissed on Sept. 9. An appeal is filed with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In the first claim, the judge said the plaintiffs lacked standing.

The ruling says, "Georgia law provides no discretion for a county party to deny qualification to candidates based on substantive concerns. Instead, O.C.G.A. § 21-2-153 provides that 'all candidates for party nomination in a state or county primary shall qualify as such candidates in accordance with the procedural rules of their party' provided that the candidates meet the other statutory requirements. (emphasis added). And, the Plaintiffs’ reasons for not qualifying the Candidates were substantive – citing concerns on their tax policy – rather than procedural, as set forth in the statute."

The party said its right to free speech was violated when the Georgia Secretary of State denied two ballot questions. The questions, "Do you think anti-Trump Democrats should be able to get a court order to force the elections board to qualify them as Republican candidates for office?" and "Did you know that Steven Henry, Vanita Hullander, Jeff Long, and Larry Black were not approved to run as Republicans by the Republican Party?" were "government speech," the District Court ruled.

The Center Square was unsuccessful getting comment from the Catoosa County Republican Party.