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DEL.ICIO.USHandel moves to correct Powell errors
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Staffers with Secretary of State Karen Handel’s office say they acted quickly Tuesday morning when they learned that some polling places were posting signs saying Public Service Commission candidate Jim Powell had been disqualified.
Staffers said they heard about the postings 21 minutes after the polls opened and that they immediately sent out a notice to county elections officials directing them to remove any postings saying Powell’s votes wouldn’t be counted. Follow-up calls were made to county elections officials who didn’t open the email directives, Handel staffers said.
However, Democratic officials say the signs were still up a few hours into polling Tuesday.
The confusion came after Handel ruled that Powell didn’t live in the district he was hoping to represent on the PSC. She directed election officials to post a notice saying Powell was disqualified and that votes for the Democratic candidate wouldn’t be counted. However, a Fulton County judge stayed that ruling late Monday.
Democrats are sore because Handel, a Republican, recently disqualified three Democratic candidates, saying they didn’t meet residency requirements.
Democratic Party spokesman Martin Matheny said of the Powell incident, “The whole thing stinks of the worst kind of politics.”
—James Salzer
Jim Galloway is out of town, but will return soon. If you’ve got news, pop an e-mail to our political team: editor Susan Abramson at sabramson@ajc.com; staffers Aaron Sheinin at asheinin@ajc.com; James Salzer at jsalzer@ajc.com; and Ben Smith at bsmith@ajc.com.
Comments
By againdumbness
July 15, 2008 12:46 PM | Link to this
does the democratic party ever get it right? why didn’t they vett these individuals before they recruited them. who is in charge? who makes the decisions to recruit candidates? this kind of stuff can’t continue if we are to win anything in November. where is the leadership? my goodness gracious.
By Fun for a Change
July 15, 2008 1:10 PM | Link to this
Dear Again — The Dems did not do this. Our heavy handed Repugnican Secretary of State did this one. Powell did qualify, she disqualified him on a failed flimsy excuse and now the courts have slapped her hand. I can only wish they had slapped her up sider her head.
Much worse than this however, are the thousands of poor, elderly, handicapped and rural Georgians she has disenfranchised.
Fun for a Change
By betty boop
July 15, 2008 1:31 PM | Link to this
Errors, my hind foot; that Repugnican hatchet woman and her big hair have not erred, just got caught red-handed doing everything she thought she could get away with to keep Dems off the ticket at any level.
Gotcha.
Betty Boop
By snd
July 15, 2008 3:01 PM | Link to this
“Democrats are sore because Handel, a Republican, recently disqualified three Democratic candidates, “
Clueless.
Democrats are ‘sore’ because the ruling from the judge was made on June 25th. Handel and her hacks sat on this until July 10th.
Democrats are ‘sore’ because she failed to notify Jim Powell of her decision AT ALL. Someone sent Powell and email over the weekend with the ruling.
Democrats are ‘sore’ because Handel, who refered this to the judge, choose to ignore his ruling and throw Powell off the ballot anyway.
How freakin’ pathetic.
By Gary Jones
July 15, 2008 3:55 PM | Link to this
Someone at the State level and with the Elections Board needs to be stepping forward to take the initiative to have disciplinary actions taken against Karen Handel immediately! She has been allowed to interrupt “thousands” of voters’ rights throughout Georgia by impeding the voting process. This is the exact type of mess that Florida & Ohio officials pulled in recent years, and some folks lost jobs over. How convenient it was for several polling locations to still have flyers & postings up claiming that Democratic Public Service Commission candidate Jim Powell had been disqualified & votes for him would not count, when in reality a Superior Court Judge (the second judge at that) had ruled in favor of Jim Powell. I say get her out of there not now, BUT RIGHT DAMN NOW!!! Only God knows what type of underhandedness shes been a part of since she’s been in her position that has yet to be discovered.
By glogle
August 12, 2008 1:44 AM | Link to this
Best site. Greeat you.