Georgia governor cancels high court election, plans to fill the seat himself

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), who was accused of winning office through voter suppression, is now facing similar accusations for canceling a state supreme court election that was scheduled for May 19.

Kemp was the Secretary of State when he ran for governor in 2018, and his office was criticized for voter purges, closing or moving polling stations, and other decisions. And the governor’s recent actions led Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to cancel the upcoming supreme court election.

Kemp told Raffensperger that he would fill the seat by appointment, even though the seat won’t be vacant for another nine months. And his appointee won’t have to stand for reelection until 2022.

The two candidates who had planned to run for the seat have filed lawsuits to force Raffensperger to reopen the filing process. Former U.S. Rep. John Barrow (D) wanted to run for the seat being left vacant by Justice Keith Blackwell, whose term concludes at the end of the year. He called the canceling of the election “an unprecedented power grab” and “the ultimate act of voter suppression.”

Rather than run for reelection, Blackwell announced he is leaving the court in November, weeks before the end of his term. (Columnist Bill Torpy pointed out that Blackwell would qualify for his 10-year state pension in November.)

According to Kemp, Blackwell’s announcement means that he can fill the “vacant” seat and cancel the election. Rather than the voters deciding who will replace Blackwell, Kemp will choose.

A Georgia statute says that a seat is vacant once a judge’s resignation is “accepted.” But former Republican legislator Beth Beskin, who had planned to run against Barrow, said Blackwell’s seat “is not vacant.” Beskin’s attorney said that “a sweetheart deal between the executive branch and the judiciary” has kept her from running. (Beskin filed to run for a different seat on the high court.)

Raffensperger’s office told Beskin, “The Governor’s office informed the Secretary of State’s office that the Governor intended to fill the created vacancy by appointment … After speaking with the Attorney General’s office about the situation, our office determined that the most prudent course of action was to cancel qualifying for that seat.”

Kemp’s decision follows attempts by Republican governors around the country to exert more control over choosing judges.

The Georgia Supreme Court is currently composed of all Republican appointees, so there was no chance of the court losing its conservative majority in the May election.

The court has had a conservative majority since a 2016 law gave a Republican governor the chance to pack the court with two conservative jurists, both of whom were affiliated with the Federalist Society.

The court recently lost its sole Democratic appointee when Justice Robert Benham retired. Benham was one of two black justices, and his term was also scheduled to end this year. Last year, Benham had announced that he would serve until the end of his term, leading to a contested race, but he abruptly changed his mind and retired early.

Judges in Georgia usually retire before the end of their terms. The practice is common in states with nonpartisan elections. It gives the governor a chance to appoint their replacements, and incumbents are rarely unseated.

The justices, however, usually resign before an election begins, not months after a scheduled election. Barrow said Kemp’s maneuvering to avoid a contested high court race is unprecedented.

In North Carolina, the Republican state legislature canceled the 2018 primary election for the state supreme court. It also tried to effectively cancel the 2016 high court election, when the conservative majority was at risk. State courts reopened filing for the 2016 election, and the high court now includes a 6-1 Democratic majority.

Beskin and Barrow filed their suits in state court, alleging a violation of the state constitution. The conservative Georgia Supreme Court has the final say on what that constitution means. The court, with Blackwell likely recused due to the conflict of interest, could decide whether Kemp can cancel the upcoming election and fill the seat himself.

Barrow said the state constitution gives voters the power to choose judges, and “these are the only state officials who can serve as a check on the governor or the legislature. They decide what rights we have—or don’t have.”