Opinion ID: 75997
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Georgia Election Law

Text: 3 Under Georgia law, a political party is any political organization whose candidate received 20% of the vote cast in the state in the immediately preceding Gubernatorial or Presidential election. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-2(25). A candidate may appear on the election ballot if he or she is nominated in a primary conducted by a political party. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-130(1) (Supp.2002). 4 However, the name of an independent candidate or a candidate of a political body may appear on the election ballot if he or she submits a nomination petition signed by a specified percentage of voters depending on the type of election being conducted. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-170(a) & (b) (Supp.2002). The Libertarian Party of Georgia concedes that it is classified as a political body for purposes of O.C.G.A. § 21-2-2(23), which means that it is any political organization other than a political party. Where a candidate of a political body is seeking statewide public office, the petition must be signed by a number of voters equal to 1% of the total number of registered voters that were eligible to vote in the last election for such office. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-170(b) (Supp.2002) & § 21-2-180. Where, as here, the candidate of a political body is seeking federal office (or any non-statewide office), the petition must be signed by a number of voters equal to 5% of the total number of registered voters eligible to vote in the last election for such office. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-170(b) (Supp.2002). Specifically, § 21-2-170(b) provides that: 5 A nomination petition of a candidate for any [non-statewide] office shall be signed by a number of voters equal to 5 percent of the total number of registered voters eligible to vote in the last election for the filling of the office the candidate is seeking and the signers of such petition shall be registered and eligible to vote in the election at which such candidate seeks to be elected. 6 O.C.G.A. § 21-2-170(b) (Supp.2002). It is this 5% requirement that Appellants challenge in this case. 7 Appellants do not challenge the 1% requirement for statewide elections, which requires them to obtain approximately 39,000 signatures. 2 Instead, Appellants challenge only the 5% requirement for congressional offices, which their complaint alleges requires them to collect approximately 14,846 valid and verifiable signatures of elections in a single Congressional district. Appellants' complaint asserts that no Libertarian Party candidate has ever been able to petition for ballot access in a Congressional race since 1943. 3