UPDATED

PSC Candidate Is Back On Ballot After Handel Attempts To Disqualify Him

Update at 5:45 p.m. adds judge staying Handel's order. New material highlighted.

(7/14/08) The day before polls opened, Secretary of State Karen Handel disqualified a Democratic candidate in one of the Public Service Commission races on residency grounds. Candidate Jim Powell quickly went to court and got a judge to order him restored.

In a statement issued by her press office shortly before noon, Handel said Powell did not meet the residency requirements for PSC District 4, a seat now held by retiring Commissioner Angela Speir. Handel said notices of the disqualification would be placed at the polling places tomorrow, and that votes cast for Powell would not be counted.

But Powell, condemning the decision as "a Katherine Harris move," quickly got a judge to order him restored to the ballot and the votes for him to be counted. Creative Loafing's Thomas Wheatly has been reporting this unfolding story here.

The ruling orders Handel to take no steps to enforce the disqualification order pending a hearing on the merits of the appeal.

Handel based her decision on a hearing officer's finding that Powell owns a home in Towns County, which is within District 4, but that at the time he qualified, he received a homestead exemption and continued to receive mail at a home he owns in Cobb County, which is not within the district.

For as long as her ruling was in effect, it left Bob Indech the only Democratic candidate in the race while Lauren McDonald and Pam Davidson are competing for the GOP nod. The primary winners will compete against each other and Libertarian Brandon Givens in November.

In another decision, Handel also disqualified Democrat Keith Gross from the HD 80 race, where he was poised to challenge Rep. Mike Jacobs, a newly-minted Republican. Jacobs still potentially faces a challenger who is attempting to gain ballot access through petitions as a non-partisan candidate. According to the newspaper Southern Voice, Gross was one of four gay Democrats seeking office in the Georgia General Assembly this year.

In other decisions, Handel:

* Dismissed a challenge against Cecillia Hailey on residency grounds. She was one of two Democrats seeking to challenge Republican Rep. Jill Chambers in November in HD 81.

* Dismissed a challenge to Clyburn Halley Jr., who is Democratic Rep. Earnest “Coach” Williams’ challenger in HD 89. There are no Republican candidates.

* Disqualified Erik Underwood from the SD 36 race. He was one of two Democratic primary challengers to Sen. Nan Orrock. There are no Republicans in the race.

Each of the decisions had been recommended to Handel by an administrative law judge, who heard the cases.