STATEMENT REGARDING COURT ORDERS FROM ADAMS LAWSUITS 

On July 25, 2024, Cobb County Superior Court Judge Kellie Hill issued final orders in both lawsuits brought by Alicia Adams against the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration. These orders bring to a close the long-running dispute regarding the competing redistricting maps adopted by the State Legislature and the Cobb County Commission.

The first order was issued in Ms. Adams’ appeal of the Board’s determination that she was not qualified to run for Post 2 of the Cobb County Commission under the Home Rule Map in place at the time.   In that order, the Court held: 1) that the redistricting resolution and map adopted by the Cobb County Board of Commissioners was outside the scope of the Home Rule powers set forth in the Georgia Constitution, 2) that Ms. Adams should have been permitted to qualify under the maps adopted by the State Legislature, and 3) that the upcoming general elections for Posts 2 and 4 of the Cobb County Commission should be stayed, removing them from the  November General Election ballot.  The order also confirmed the Board of Elections’ long stated position that it did not have authority to declare the Home Rule Map resolution unconstitutional of its own accord.

The Court’s order in the mandamus case held that because complete relief could not be granted to Ms. Adams in the appeal case, the Court was authorized to issue a writ of mandamus prohibiting the use of the Home Rule Map and requiring the use of the map adopted by the State Legislature in Act 562 for future elections.  The Court also ordered the Board of Elections to call for a special primary to be held as soon as reasonably practicable after the November General Election and any subsequent runoff election.

The Board of Elections has maintained a neutral position on the validity of the Home Rule Map from the very beginning of this dispute and does not foresee a need to appeal these orders.  The Board anticipated this outcome as a possibility and stands ready to implement the Court’s orders moving forward.  In light of the Court’s directive, and barring a future court order to the contrary, the Board will remove the elections for Post 2 and Post 4* of the Cobb County Commission from the November General Election ballot and will call for a special primary and special election for those to posts to be held as soon as practicable afterward. 

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*Both Act 562 and the County’s enabling legislation contain language indicating that Commission members will serve “for the terms of office specified therefor in this subsection and until their respective successors are elected and qualified,” meaning that commission members serve until their successor is elected and qualified. The Board of Elections, in its limited role as the superintendent of elections, is not empowered to make decisions regarding any current vacancies in the County Commission.  For informational purposes, it should be noted that Act 562 states that as of January 1, 2023, the “members of the board serving from those former Commissioner Districts 2 and 4 shall be deemed to be serving from and representing their respective districts as newly described under this section.”    The import of this language appears to be that the commissioners elected to Posts 2 and 4 may continue serving from those posts regardless of the new district lines adopted in Act 562.