According to reporting from Bolts Magazine, Georgia Supreme Court Justice Sarah Warren this month declined to rule out exploiting a loophole in Georgia law that could allow Republicans to effectively “nullify” the results of the May 19th Supreme Court election.
The report highlights a dangerous loophole in Georgia law that could allow a justice on the Supreme Court to resign after losing an election and allow the Governor to appoint a successor of his choice – potentially overriding voters’ choice. In 2020, Governor Kemp used this loophole to cancel a Supreme Court election and ensure he could appoint a conservative successor – a move that received “bipartisan pushback.” Warren was part of the majority that ruled to allow Kemp to cancel the election.
Warren refused to rule out exploiting that same loophole should she lose re-election.
“Sarah Warren was asked a very simple question – whether she will pledge not to exploit a legal loophole that could allow Republicans to effectively override voters’ will in the May 19th Supreme Court election – and she declined to answer,” said Charlie Bailey, Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia. “As a candidate for the state’s highest court, charged with protecting Georgians’ constitutional rights, Sarah Warren must answer: will she commit to respecting the will of Georgia voters or not?”
Warren’s refusal to answer this question comes as Georgians are experiencing a new wave of attacks on their voting rights and their faith in democracy, with Brian Kemp signing a bill designed to hide party affiliation and confuse voters in the five large metro Atlanta counties and calling a special session to further gerrymander voting maps and dilute Black voting power.
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