Background
Christopher Mora, Keli Gambrell, and Greg Dolezal petitioned the Superior Court of Fulton County for mandamus and injunctive relief against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. They sought to compel Raffensperger to permit their designated poll watchers and members of the State Elections Board to observe certain election-day activities of the Secretary of State’s office, alleging that denial of access violated OCGA § 21-2-408 and other law.
The superior court dismissed the petition. The resulting companion appeals comprised the petitioners’ appeal against Raffensperger in docket A27A0071 and Raffensperger’s appeal against Dolezal and others in docket A27A0072.
The Court’s Holding
The Court of Appeals did not decide the merits of either appeal. Based on its initial review, it concluded that the cases appeared to fall within the Georgia Supreme Court’s exclusive appellate jurisdiction over all cases of election contest.
The court noted that the precise boundaries of the Supreme Court’s election-contest jurisdiction have not been expressly delineated, but that the category includes at least challenges to election candidates and results and voter-based challenges to a specific election. Because the Georgia Supreme Court bears ultimate responsibility for determining appellate jurisdiction, the Court of Appeals transferred both appeals to that court for disposition.
Key Takeaways
- The transfer covered both companion appeals: A27A0071 and A27A0072.
- The Court of Appeals made no ruling on the merits of the requested poll-watcher and State Elections Board access.
- The Georgia Supreme Court will determine whether the disputes fall within its exclusive election-contest jurisdiction and will dispose of the appeals.
Why It Matters
The order underscores that disputes tied to election observation may implicate the Georgia Supreme Court’s exclusive election-contest jurisdiction even when framed as requests for mandamus and injunctive relief rather than as conventional challenges to election results.
For election-law litigants, the order also highlights the importance of identifying the proper appellate court and preserving the full procedural posture when companion appeals seek review of the same superior-court judgment.