Brown files suit in Brunswick election
The ex-mayoral candidate asks for the results to be set aside until a hearing.
By TERRY DICKSON, The Times-Union
BRUNSWICK, Ga. -- Former Brunswick mayoral candidate Elaine Brown has contested the Nov. 8 election, asserting she was illegally removed from the ballot and that election officials improperly dissuaded voters from writing in her name.
Filed this week in Glynn County Superior Court, the lawsuit asks for the
results to be set aside until a hearing can be held.
Bryan Thompson won the election over two other official candidates and Brown, who received 254 write-in votes. Thompson received 64 percent of the vote.
Brown had qualified to run Sept. 14, but was stricken from the ballot after she failed to prove she had been a legal resident for the required year before the election. Two city residents had challenged her residency.
Brown filed a petition in U.S. District Court to have the election delayed,
but Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony Alaimo refused. Alaimo ruled that
Brown had not exhausted her remedies in Georgia's appellate courts and that
she had little chance of succeeding on the merits of her case.
Alaimo did, however, order election officials to preserve and tally any votes Brown received.
Among other complaints, Brown accused Glynn County sheriff's deputies of intimidating voters. The deputies are stationed at polls during elections to provide security.
Some poll watchers also complained that Brown's name was not listed at the polls as a possible write-in candidate. Such a requirement was not included in Alaimo's order; nor was Brown an official write-in candidate under Georgia law, which requires candidates to register and demonstrate they meet the requirements to hold the office.
