A judge has ruled that a state law requiring a special election to replace DeKalb County's tax commissioner is unconstitutional.

The decision is a victory for DeKalb Tax Commissioner Irvin Johnson, who had argued in a lawsuit that he shouldn't have had to run in a special election to finish the term of Claudia Lawson, who retired Dec. 31.

Johnson won the special election anyway in a July runoff against attorney Susannah Scott.

But in the future, the chief deputy tax commissioner will take over the tax office until the next regularly scheduled election.

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Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, seen here in a file photo from Nov. 14, 2024, is conducting a statewide audit of voter registrations targeting registrations at businesses and P.O. boxes for possible cancelation. (Jason Getz / AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com