NAHUNTA — The recall effort for three Brantley County commissioners has failed, due to both inadequate valid signatures and an error with the recall affidavit, per the Brantley County Board of Elections.
In an official Board statement shared via social media Tuesday (July 14), it was stated after a review of the submitted signatures, there were only 83 valid signatures for Chairman Chris Harris; 84 signatures for Commissioner Hal Herndon; and 85 signatures for Commissioner Randy Davidson.
Additionally, on the affidavit, there were spaces intended to have the name of each commissioner written in. These spaces were left blank upon submission.
Justin Smith, speaking on behalf of the Board of Elections, explained that, in regards to the invalid signatures, some had signed for the same commissioner more than once, while others that signed had not been registered voters during the commissioner’s last election.
Shannon Denbow, the citizen who initially began the recall effort, said there was some confusion during the notarization process, and that the unfilled spaces went unnoticed by herself and the Board during that time. She reiterated the recall effort was pertaining to a legal dispute with the county over what she described as, “a failure to comply with an open records request filed earlier this year.”
When asked about future recall efforts, Smith explained had the recall effort gone to a petition, and had been denied, there would be a six-month waiting period before another recall effort could be filed. However, as the recall effort did not make it to the petition phase, there is no waiting period for another attempt.
When asked, Denbow stated she is instead focusing on the fire recovery and complaints regarding that, rather than pursuing another recall attempt.
Comments