The Georgia Supreme Court on Sept. 21 denied a Sandy Springs resident’s petition to challenge Democrat Shea Roberts’ narrow victory in a state House election last year.
Warren Schmitz Jr., a resident of Sandy Springs’ High Point neighborhood, failed to properly serve Roberts in the suit, a Fulton superior court judge had ruled on April 22 in dismissing his petition.
The state Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s decision.
“We have long held that it is the responsibility of the person bringing an election contest to ensure that the proceedings move in an expeditious fashion, including by ensuring that all defendants and other interested individuals are given proper notice of the election contest,” Justice Charles J. Bethel said in the ruling dismissing Schmitz’s lawsuit.
Schmitz’s petition alleged that there were more than 377 illegal and improper votes cast in the election for House District 52, which includes parts of Buckhead and Sandy Springs. Roberts narrowly defeated Republican incumbent Rep. Deborah Silcox in the election last November.