Secretary of State plays politics

No matter the outcome of Tuesday’s election, a loser has emerged —- Secretary of State Karen Handel.

Her relentless crusade to bounce Democratic Public Service Commission candidate Jim Powell from the ballot, her posturing over yet-to-be-seen voter fraud and her flippant dismissal of voter delays this week have tarnished her and her office.

Her flagging reputation was not helped by Thursday’s unanimous Georgia Supreme Court decision in the Powell case. Handel had maintained that Powell could not run for the PSC District 4 post because he didn’t live in the district. Powell had bought a home in the district in 2006, had voted in the district three times, and got his mail, attended church, paid taxes and spent the majority of his time there.

But Handel, a Republican, nonetheless demanded that Powell be removed from the ballot. According to her, all of the evidence that Powell lived in the district was outweighed by the fact that he had failed to transfer his homestead exemption from Cobb to Towns, having missed the deadline to do so in 2007.

Twice judges ruled against Handel. Yet, with ballots printed and thousands of Georgians already casting ballots, Handel insisted on taking the fight to the Supreme Court. Had she prevailed, she would have guaranteed the election to Powell’s Republican opponent, Lauren McDonald.

In rebuking Handel, the Supreme Court noted that Powell satisfied at least seven of the 15 criteria in Georgia law for establishing residency. “The secretary’s analysis had the effect of elevating the ‘homestead exemption’ rule above the remaining rules contained therein,” said the court.

As the state’s chief elections officer, Handel must keep the appearance of politics out of her actions. She has failed to do so repeatedly. When early voters —- both Democrats and Republicans —- complained of waiting in lines as long as eight hours to vote this week, she responded with dismissal rather than solutions. She may find that Georgians respond the same way the next time she seeks their votes.

—- Maureen Downey, for the editorial board (mdowney@ajc.com)