In Cobb County, a complex redistricting dispute between the state legislature and the county has turned costly, following a July court ruling that Cobb must restore the County Board of Commissioner districts drawn by the legislature.
As a result, Cobb must redo its 2024 primaries for two County Commission seats and hold a special general election at an estimated cost to taxpayers of $1.5 million, according to Cobb Board of Elections Director Tate Fall.
A Cobb Superior Court judge ruled over the summer that the county’s redrawn district map for the commission is unconstitutional, which will push back the general election for the District 2 and District 4 seats to next year. Cobb’s Board of Commissioners has five members, with four district commissioners and a chairperson elected by the entire county.
How Cobb got here
The 2022 redistricting process, which occurs every ten years in response to the latest U.S. Census, sparked a dispute in Cobb over the boundary lines for the County Commission districts, as the Republican-controlled state legislature and Cobb’s majority-Democratic County Commission jockeyed for political control.
The dispute started after the state legislature redrew large portions of Cobb Commission Districts 2 and 3. In both East Cobb districts, voters had transitioned from a predominantly Republican base to a fairly even mix of Republicans and Democrats.
The new map proposed by the Republicans placed two incumbent county commissioners — Democrat Jerica Richardson from District 2 and Republican JoAnn Birrell from District 3 — into the same redrawn District 2 (in pink on map).
In response, Cobb’s majority-Democratic County Commission invoked the county’s “home rule” rights under the state constitution and replaced the state legislature’s map with its own version in the fall of 2022. The goal was to keep Richardson, the Democrat, in office, which led to the legal dispute.
One County Commission candidate, Alicia Adams, sued the Cobb Board of Elections after being disqualified from running for the District 2 commission seat under the county’s redrawn map, which she argued was unconstitutional.
Cobb Superior Court Judge Kellie Hill ruled in favor of Adams in July. That nullified the county-passed map and restored the state legislature-approved districts. Consequently, Cobb must hold a new election for County Commission Districts 2 and 4.
Election scheduling and costs
Fall, the Cobb Board of Elections director, provided insight into how the county is managing the situation. Before Cobb can hold a new election for the two County Commission seats, she said, the Elections Board must officially update the redistricting – and that can’t happen until after the Nov. 5 General Election.
“The redistricting process will take place after the November General Election and any potential December runoff, as we cannot conduct redistricting during an active election. After the redistricting process is complete, all voters will be mailed a new precinct card with updated district and polling place information,” Fall said in an email to Atlanta Civic Circle.
The election redo will likely cost Cobb taxpayers about $1.5 million, Fall said. That is the Cobb Elections Board’s estimate of the total cost for a special primary, a special primary runoff, and a special general election.
However, she added, if there is a December runoff for the Nov. 5 General Election, it will push back the County Commission special general election to coincide with a statewide election for a Public Service Commission seat. Cobb has already budgeted for holding that general election, so the cost would drop to $624,000 for the special primary and any primary runoff.
The costs associated with this election are mainly influenced by whether or not the election is countywide. Expenses cover payroll for election workers, renting polling place facilities, supplies, absentee ballots and postage, Fall said.
New election schedule
The Cobb Board of Elections has approved two tentative schedules for the special County Commission elections. One schedule accounts for a potential December runoff, while the other does not:
- If there is no December runoff:
- Qualifying: December 18-20, 2024
- Primary: February 11, 2025
- Start of early voting for primary: January 21, 2025
- Runoff: March 11, 2025
- Start of early voting for runoff: March 3, 2025
- General Election: April 29, 2025
- Start of early voting for General Election: April 7, 2025
- If there is a December runoff:
- Qualifying: January 27-29, 2025
- Primary: March 18, 2025
- Start of early voting for primary: February 24, 2025
- Runoff: April 15, 2025
- Start of early voting for runoff: April 7, 2025
- General Election: June 17, 2025
- Start of early voting for General Election: May 27, 2025