Rockdale Superior Court Judge Sidney Nation ordered the Republican and Democrat members of the election board, Lynn Brown and Garvin Haynes, to choose the third member by the coming Friday or risk being thrown off the board.
“We’re going to get this problem solved,” said Nation at the court proceeding Friday morning. “We’re going to have elections in this county. We’re not going to be the laughing stock of Georgia because we don’t have the confidence enough to even hold an election.”
After the judge’s orders, the election board announced it will hold a special called meeting Tuesday, Nov. 8, 10 a.m. at 1400 Parker Road to choose a third member.
The board had come to a stalemate over the selection of the traditionally non-partisan third member. Current third member Cary Bond is serving on an interim basis after his term expired in July without a new appointment. Haynes refused to vote on other matters, saying the board was not legally allowed perform any actions until the third member was chosen.
The board eventually turned to the courts. On Oct. 28, election board attorney Terry Massey filed a request for a declaratory judgment from the court. Judge Nation then submitted his own filing, calling all three board members before the court and considering whether he would have the authority to order Brown and Haynes to leave their positions.
In a new twist right before the court proceeding Friday morning, Massey amended the original filing to name the individual members as defendants instead of the election board in general. Massey explained that naming the individual members provided the court more enforcement power.
The proceedings also set into motion the procedure, as outlined in the Enabling Act ordinance, to remove board members should the court find just cause – which the judge outlined as having failed to appoint the third member.
Brown and Haynes appeared in court with their respective attorneys, Michael Higgins and Harger Hoyt. Bond did not have an attorney. Elections Supervisor Cynthia Welch also retained the services of former county attorney John Nix.
Earlier in the week, Welch was reportedly pressured to file against the board members but refused, citing the need to maintain the public’s trust in the elections supervisor’s office and the fact the board members were her supervisors.
Haynes and Bond agreed to the court proceedings. Brown’s attorney, Michael Higgins, objected to going forward on the amended claims.
After the hearing Higgins said, “I can’t agree to have a trial on subject matter on an hour’s notice. I’ve been called on to agree that the judge can agree on whatever he wants to decide.”
Nation overruled Higgins’ objection.
“Let me be very frank with you,” Nation said. “When these people took their party’s appointment to this board, the law existed at that time that they would be faced with the responsibility of appointing a non-partisan third member. They knew that when they took the job. Implicit in that requirement is that there’ll be a reasonable degree of bipartisan effort to support the law. Neither one of them can be so hard headed as just to say no.
“The fact is nobody’s been appointed. Does that in and of itself show a lack of bipartisan effort to appoint that non-partisan member? If it does, both of them are out. It’s that simple.
“They don’t have the right to take away the rights of the people in this county to vote simply because they don’t like each other or they have such deeply held beliefs that they can’t act in a bipartisan manner.”
Haynes attorney, Harger Hoyt, pointed out after the hearing that his client had voted against tabling the discussion on choosing the third member back in August.
The court will reconvene Friday, Nov. 11, at 10 a.m.
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(Nov. 4, 11:02 a.m.) IN BRIEF: Rockdale Superior Court Judge Sidney Nation ordered the Republican and Democrat members of the election board, Lynn Brown and Garvin Haynes, to choose the third member by next Friday or risk being thrown off the board.
Nation said the inability to agree on a third member put upcoming elections in jeopardy. “They don’t have the right to take away the right to vote simply because they don’t like each other.”
Attorney Terry Massey, who was appointed by the county in September to represent the board of elections, submitted an amended filing on Friday morning, shortly before the board was to appear before Judge Nation, naming the individual board members instead of the elections board.
Haynes and Brown were represented by their own attorneys on Friday.
The court will reconvene next Friday at 10 a.m.
