Raffensperger rejects Blackman’s residency claim

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger Wednesday disqualified state Public Service Commission (PSC) candidate Daniel Blackman from next month’s Democratic Primary ballot.

In a ruling that upheld a decision an administrative law judge handed down on Tuesday, Raffensperger declared that Blackman failed to prove he had established residence inside PSC District 3 at least one year before this November’s general election as required by state law.

The challenge to Blackman’s residency was brought by a voter who lives in District 3, which covers Fulton, Clayton, and DeKalb counties.

Blackman was among four Democrats vying to win the party’s nomination to challenge incumbent Republican Commissioner Fitz Johnson.

Since early voting in the June 17 primary began on Monday, it’s too late to remove Blackman’s name from the ballot. A notice will be placed in the polling places informing voters of Blackman’s disqualification, a spokesman for the secretary of state’s office wrote in an email to Capitol Beat.

Johnson and District 2 Commissioner Tim Echols are currently serving terms that were extended because of a 2022 lawsuit challenging the way members of the PSC are elected in Georgia.

Four Black Fulton County residents argued that electing the commissioners statewide rather than by district dilutes Black voting strength in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act.

A lower federal court agreed and ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, but the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals overturned that decision. The appellate court ruling was allowed to stand when the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to take up the case.

The General Assembly passed legislation last year scheduling special elections for PSC districts 2 and 3 this year.