ATLANTA (AP) — One of two people who filed papers to run against judge presiding over former president Donald TrumpGeorgia’s 2020 election interference case has been disqualified, but says she plans to appeal the decision.
Secretary of State of Georgia Brad Raffensperger issued a final ruling Tuesday saying Tiffani Johnson is not qualified to run for the seat held by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee. The decision by Raffensperger, a Republican, follows an administrative judge’s finding last week that Johnson was not qualified after she failed to appear at a hearing on a challenge to her eligibility.
Johnson said in an emailed statement Wednesday that his team is “appealing this decision to the Secretary of State and Fulton Superior Court and we are confident we will ultimately prevail.”
McAfee, who previously worked as a federal prosecutor and state prosecutor, took office a little more than a year ago after Republican Gov. Brian Kemp appointed him to fill a vacancy. Even if Johnson’s appeal fails, McAfee still faces another challenger, civil rights attorney Robert Patillo, in May’s nonpartisan election.
Johnson’s campaign website says she has experience as both a prosecutor and defense attorney and has a background in civil and criminal law.
Georgia law allows anyone eligible to vote for a candidate to challenge the candidate’s qualifications by filing a complaint with the Secretary of State’s office within two weeks of the qualification deadline. An attorney for Fulton County constituent Sean Arnold filed a lawsuit March 22, and a hearing before Administrative Law Judge Ronit Walker was held April 2.
Arnold’s complaint notes that the Georgia Constitution requires all judges to “reside in the geographic area in which they are elected to serve.” He noted that in Johnson’s qualifying documents, she listed her home address as in DeKalb County and wrote that she had legally resided in neighboring Fulton County for “0 consecutive years.” The qualifying documents signed by Johnson include a line stating that the candidate is “a voter in the county of my residence eligible to vote in the election in which I am a candidate.”
Kendra-Sue Derby, Johnson’s campaign strategist, wrote in an email that the law says superior court judges must reside in the district when they take office, not when they qualify. She pointed to a section of the code that lists the following qualifications for superior court judges: They must be at least 30 years old, have lived in Georgia for three years, have practiced law for seven years and be a member in good standing of the State Bar. .
Walker’s initial ruling says Johnson did not appear at the hearing. A notification was sent to Johnson’s home and email address, and a second email was sent to her when she did not show up, but no response was received, the judge. Derby said Johnson was never informed of the hearing.
Walker wrote that the burden of proof is on the candidate to “affirmatively establish her eligibility for office” and that Johnson’s failure to appear at the hearing “rendered her incapable of discharging of its burden of proof.
Walker concluded that Johnson was not qualified to be a candidate for superior court judge in the Atlanta Judicial Circuit. Raffensperger adopted the judge’s findings and conclusions in making his decision.
The law states that if the Secretary of State determines that a candidate is not qualified, his or her name must be removed from the ballot or stricken from any ballot already printed. If there is not sufficient time to strike out the candidate’s name or reprint the ballots, conspicuous notices should be placed at polling places informing voters that the candidate is disqualified and that votes cast in his favor will not be counted.
McAfee has a higher profile than many other superior court judges because he presides over Fulton County Prosecutor Fani Willis’ prosecution of Trump. The indictment handed down in August accused the former Republican president and 18 others of participating in a massive scheme to try to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia after his loss to Democrat Joe Biden .
Four people pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors. Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty. McAfee has not yet set a trial date.
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