Citizens, activists demand special election to replace Congressman Lewis

ATLANTA - A small, grassroots group gathered at the foot of the John Lewis Hero mural off Auburn Avenue Friday to demand the "election not selection" of the late Congressman's successor.

"I am here because we need an election to honor our democracy and the legacy of John Lewis," said Lacey DeLayne, who started an online petition advocating for a special election in the 5th Congressional District race.

On Monday, members of the Georgia Democratic Party's executive committee chose party Chairwoman and state Sen. Nikema Williams to replace Lewis on the November ballot. Lewis had won the Democratic primary just five weeks before his death.

"I, like many of you, am still grieving from the loss of a true American hero," Williams told the committee. "It's surreal that we're forced to endure this nominating process while still grieving."

SEE ALSO: Rep. John Lewis to lie in state at the Capitol next week

Under state law, after a candidate's passing, a political party must notify the Secretary of State's office by 4:00 p.m. the next business day that they intend to fill the vacancy. Since Lewis died on a Friday, the party had until Monday afternoon to make a decision. They put out a call for applications Saturday and by the deadline Sunday evening, more than 130 people had submitted their names for consideration.

"We believe that the process that was utilized was not fair, transparent or equitable. Under state law, all the Democrats had to do on Monday of this week was simply notify the Secretary of State of its intent to name a replacement nominee," said former Senate candidate Maya Dillard Smith, who disagreed with the party's interpretation of the law. "Instead, the party in a matter of 24 hours decided among themselves who the nominee would be without any public input."

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Smith said the party should have allowed the public to weigh in on the candidates up for consideration.

"While no one at the party wanted to fill the seat so quickly after Congressman Lewis’ passing, the deadline under Georgia law to notify the Secretary of State of the decision to fill the vacancy was 4:30 on Monday. After receiving advice from our counsel who conferred with the Secretary of State’s office, it was clear that the best course of action to ensure a Democratic nominee was on the ballot for November was to name the nominee at the same time that DPG verified we would be filling the vacancy on the ballot," said Maggie Chambers, the spokeswoman for the Democratic Party of Georgia. "Throughout the process, the DPG shared thorough explanations of the process, along with full transparency as to names of all applicants and members of the nominating committee and executive committee."

During Monday's meeting, both Williams and members of the executive committee expressed a desire to change state elections law to avoid these types of scenarios in the future.

"This is not the ideal process, not the process by which any of us would have wanted," said state Rep. Bee Nguyen, D-Atlanta. "Our work is to be continued at the state level to ensure not only this policy is changed, but that we change and recognize all voting policies that take the power out of the hands of the public."

Dillard Smith called on whoever wins the November race to step down so that a special election can be held for the seat.

Williams will face Republican Angela Stanton-King in the general election.

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