Banker challenges election results
Candidate asks for special election

Forsyth Herald
8/3/2004
By BOB PEPALIS
news@forsythherald.com

Attorneys for Melissa Banker filed a challenge to election results in Forsyth County’s Republican primary election for chief magistrate.

Banker finished second in the election to incumbent Barbara Cole. Despite posted notices that he had withdrawn from the race, 1,817 people voted for John Adams Jr. However, those votes were not counted and Cole was declared winner of the election because she had more than 50 percent of the votes cast that were counted.

"When I looked at the law on [July 21] I saw that the law was not followed,” Banker said. "And as an attorney the whole basis of my job is the law... Ultimately we all deserve the law to be followed, it’s there to protect us.”

Banker is asking for a special election in November between she and Cole.

Banker’s attorney, Matt Maguire, said the challenge is on two points: not all precincts had the required posted notices and the notices that were posted did not meet requirements of state election law.

"As a result, 1,800-some votes were cast for Mr. Adams, more than the difference between Barbara Cole and our client, Melissa Banker,” Maguire said.

Cole said she turned the challenge over to her attorney, John Jones of Atlanta.

He said when Adams withdrew from the race there was not enough time to remove him from the ballot. In that instance, the election superintendent is required to post notices in all precincts prominently stating the candidate had withdrawn and that any votes cast for him would not be counted. Banker’s challenge

"So we’re asking for a brand new special election which would be held in November,” Maguire said. "We think obviously 1,800 voters were confused in who they could vote for.”

He said they were not asking for a runoff because that would only be authorized if votes for all three candidates were counted and no one received a majority of the votes. The Forsyth Board of Elections only counted votes for Cole and Banker.

A judge now has to be assigned to the case because the two superior court judges in Forsyth County said they could not preside over the case since they voted in the primary election. Once a judge has been assigned, the defendants – Cole and Gary Smith, in his position as Forsyth County Elections Superintendent – will be able to answer the challenge.

Linda Beazley, director of Elections for the Secretary of State’s office, said Smith has no authority but what the law allows him to do. Neither can the secretary of state set aside an election. A judge must decide the issue, she said.

"We’re in an area we’ve never seen before,” Smith said.

Forsyth’s elections chief said the challenge rests upon a point of law.

While the challenge was being filed, Smith’s staff was preparing for the Aug. 10 runoff election. They worked over the weekend to get voting machines tested and ready for early voting scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 2. He said 8 percent of the votes cast in the primary election – 1,497 votes – were done through early voting at the county administration building in downtown Cumming.

"All I want done is to have the law be followed,” Banker said.