The first scheduled hearing in the lawsuit over Cobb’s electoral map has been postponed.
The hearing, originally scheduled for May 23 in Cobb County Superior Court, will now take place July 7, said county spokesman Ross Cavitt.
Plaintiff Keli Gambrill, who is a Cobb County commissioner, filed suit against the county in her capacity as a resident to challenge the legality of the board’s Democratic majority amending its own district electoral map last year — an unprecedented move that has drawn no shortage of scrutiny from legal experts, lawmakers and residents.
Gambrill requested that additional plaintiffs be added to the lawsuit in response to the county’s motion to dismiss the case because she does not live in the disputed district. Residents David and Catherine Floam have asked to be added to the case, the lawsuit filing says.
The county’s amended map, which took effect Jan. 1, preserved Commissioner Jerica Richardson’s seat on the board after she was drawn out of her district, which the county contends would have rendered her unqualified to serve the rest of her term. That position has also been debated by legal experts and would have likely ended up in court.
Residents who live in the contested areas of Districts 2 and 3 will have to wait until July to hear opening arguments for and against the county’s move. They will have to wait even longer for Judge Ann Harris to rule which map — the one passed by the state Legislature, or the one adopted by the county commission — is the true legal map of the county.
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