Mary Norwood sues for access to Fulton County ballot
Mary Norwood is suing incumbent Chairman John Eaves, whom she accuses of trying to block ballot access
We may have thought Mary Norwood’s quest to run for Fulton County Commission Chairman as an independent was one long pool party. But the former mayoral candidate has just announced that she’s suing incumbent Chairman John Eaves, whom she accuses of trying to block her access to the ballot.
Running as an Independent candidate, Norwood must obtain signatures from five percent of Fulton County’s registered voters to be placed on the ballot. Back in May, Norwood’s campaign obtained written approval from the Fulton County Department of Registration and Elections to pre-type in the word “Fulton” in the space provided for the signer’s county of residence.
Relying upon a hyper-technical interpretation of the law, John Eaves’s campaign claims that each signer must handwrite the word “Fulton” along with their address on the form. The Eaves campaign is being represented by former U.S. Representative George W. “Buddy” Darden (D-GA). This interpretation would void thousands of signatures already obtained by Mary Norwood and her supporters.
Norwood will be asking a Fulton County Superior Court judge to rule that the signatures in question can be considered valid. She is attempting to collect approximately 23,000 John and Jane Hancocks.
Norwood will be holding a 10 a.m. presser at the Buckhead Barnes & Noble on Peachtree Road for anyone who wants to know more — or who wants to pick up a latte and the latest issue of Lowrider.
Add on: I threw this post up so fast I forgot to add my two cents. Whenever petitions are involved — whether it’s to run for office, recall an incumbent, etc. — there’s typically debate over the validity of the signatures. That said, if what Norwood says is true and Eaves is simply looking for a “gotcha” technicality to keep her off the ballot, that’s bogus — as it was when Karen Handel tried to boot Democrats from the state ballot.
Petition-gatherers should certainly follow the established rules, but those rules shouldn’t be subject to re-interpretation mid-way through the process.