Everything Within Their Power

A challenge to the election of a Court of Appeals judge was rejected by the Georgia Supreme Court

In May 2024, Appellant Tabitha Ponder ran against and lost to Jeffrey Davis for a seat on the Georgia Court of Appeals. Three weeks after her loss, Ponder, along with an elector, Randolph Frails, filed the underlying election contest petition, asserting that Davis was not qualified to run as a candidate in the election because he is not a resident of Georgia. Appellants Ponder and Frails appeal from the superior court’s dismissal of that election contest petition. Because Appellants have failed to do “everything within their power to have their claims decided before the election occurred,” we “dismiss the appeal without reaching the merits (or lack thereof).” Catoosa County Republican Party v. Henry, 319 Ga. 794, 794-95 (906 SE2d 750) (2024).

The Secretary of State had found prior to the election that Davis was a Georgia resident

On May 21, 2024, the election was held, with Davis receiving 57.1% of the votes and Ponder receiving 42.9%. According to the superior court, “[a]s requested by Petitioner, the Court held a hearing on Friday, June 7,” after which it entered an order dismissing Frails’s petition as moot because the election had already occurred and the results were certified by the Secretary of State. Frails did not appeal that order.

(Mike Frisch)