Judge blocks seats from Georgia Public Service Commission from appearing on ballot
ATLANTA - A lot of issues and seats are on the Georgia ballot but two on the Public Service Commission are not. They’re the board that decides how much Georgians pay in utilities.
A judge blocked the race for two seats from being put on the ballot after a group of civil-right advocates and environmentalists filed a lawsuit arguing the current method for electing commissioners violates the Voting Rights Act.
Under the current system, candidates must live in specific districts. But voters around the state elect the commissioners.
"The reason we have district is so that there can be local representation," said Wan Smith, the organizing director for the Georgia Conservation Voters Education Fund.
Smith said commissioners don’t really represent the people of their district because they’re chosen in a statewide vote.
"When we have statewide elections, the whole of the sum is able to outvote the individual district and the community," Smith said. "It undermines the voice of the people. It undermines the democracy that we live in. We want accountability at the district level."
Smith said the method for electing commissioners hurts low-income communities of color especially hard.
"It was very clear that it was unconstitutional, that election method is illegal, according to the Voting Rights Act," she said
Adam Kincaid, the executive director of the National Republican Redistricting Trust, filed a brief supporting the state.
"This isn’t an instance where minority voters aren’t getting the ability to elect the candidates of their choice. They have ability to impact all five seats," Kincaid said.
Kincaid accuses the plaintiffs of playing politics.
"This lawsuit is really more about trying to elect Democrats than it is about trying to elect minority candidates," Kincaid said.
The state is appealing the decision. State lawmakers would have to develop a new system if the judge’s ruling stands, which could lead to a special election.