Disqualified Cobb County Commission candidate has her day in Court over Cupid’s Home Rule map

Would be candidate Alicia Adams, who filed an appeal contesting her disqualification to run for Cobb District 2 Commissioner – which was initiated by the Cobb Board of Elections – had her case heard in Cobb Superior Court before Judge Kellie Hill last week. The hearing lasted for several hours and delved into disagreements over the Cobb Board of Commissioners district maps, with attorneys for both sides presented arguments in the appeal from Adams, a commission candidate challenging her disqualification.

Adams’ disqualification from the commissioner race stemmed from a successful challenge by political activist Mindy Seger, who went before the elections board with her complaint. Seger contended that Adams should be disqualified because she does not reside in commission District 2 as per the “home rule” map passed by the commission’s Democratic majority in 2022.

Instead of responding to a request by Adams’ attorney to issue a ruling on the appeal during the court session, Judge Hill instructed attorneys for both parties, including Adams and the defendants – the Cobb Board of Elections, Seger, and Cobb Elections Director Tate Fall – to submit proposed rulings by Monday.

The home rule map was introduced by Cobb Chair Lisa Cupid after a map passed by the Republican-controlled state legislature, and signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022, drew Democratic Commissioner Jerica Richardson out of her district. A separate Cobb Superior Court Judge previously ruled in January against Cupid’s home rule map, but Cupid directed the county to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of Georgia. As for Richardson, she is running for Congress in the newly drawn 6th district, but Cupid is still clinging to the map that has been ruled illegal. Many say she is doing so because every vote that she took under her Home Rule map can be challenged as illegal votes. 

Adams is pursuing relief on two fronts through separate court complaints. In the first petition, she seeks reinstatement as a candidate and a delay of the May 21 primary for District 2 and District 4 Cobb commission until the appeal is resolved. In the second petition, known as a mandamus, Adams requests the court to compel the Board of Elections to accept her qualification and to discard the home rule map in favor of the map endorsed by state legislators and signed by Kemp.Judge Hill highlighted the fundamental issue at hand – the constitutionality of the Board of Commissioners’ decision to implement the home rule map. She underscored the necessity of addressing this issue before considering the placement of Adams on the ballot or directing the Board of Elections to halt actions related to district elections.

Said Judge Hill, “In order to get to the maps, we have to deal with the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of the act of creating maps, and that’s what you’re asking me to do.”