A Fulton County judge issued a ruling Wednesday upholding a decision by the secretary of state to disqualify Democratic Party candidate Daniel Blackman from running for a metro Atlanta district seat on the Public Service Commission.
Fulton Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville ruled any votes for Blackman in the Democrat primary will not count because the candidate did not establish his residency in the district in time to qualify.
“The court is of the opinion that the secretary’s decision did, in fact, properly apply Georgia law,” Glanville said during a Tuesday hearing over Zoom.
It’s the latest in a legal battle over whether Blackman lived in District 3 — which represents Clayton, DeKalb and Fulton counties — long enough to qualify for the race.
PSC members must reside in one of five geographic districts, even though they are elected statewide. Under Georgia law, candidates must live in their district for at least one year before they are qualified to run in that jurisdiction.
Raffensperger, a Republican, disqualified Blackman on May 28 for failing to provide enough evidence to show he lived in District 3. Raffensperger’s decision came one day after early voting for the June 17 Democratic primary began.
A day after the disqualification, Blackman appealed that decision to Fulton Superior Court, and Glanville temporarily placed Blackman back on the ballot while weighing his final ruling.
Blackman declined to comment following Tuesday’s hearing.
Under Glanville’s decision, voters will choose from three Democratic candidates in District 3: Keisha Sean Waites, former state representative and former Atlanta City Council member; Peter Hubbard, chief executive of Georgia Center for Energy Solutions; and Robert Jones, who has worked in energy and tech for the government and private companies.
The Democrat who wins the party nomination will run against Republican incumbent Fitz Johnson in November.
Glanville’s decision comes days before the end of the early voting period on Friday. So far, voter turnout has been low. As of Tuesday, fewer than than 1% of active voters had cast a ballot during early voting.
Voting history data shows Blackman voted in Forsyth on Nov. 5, one month after he said he moved to Fulton. He also changed his voter registration address to a Midtown Atlanta apartment in April, the last day to qualify for the race.
Blackman ran for the District 4 PSC seat in 2020, narrowly losing to incumbent Republican Lauren “Bubba” McDonald in a runoff election.
Blackman could appeal this week’s decision to the Supreme Court of Georgia.
This article has been updated to include Glanville’s written order.
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