A candidate suing Georgia officials who canceled a scheduled election to the state Supreme Court signed up Friday for a different race.
Atlanta attorney Beth Beskin filed paperwork to challenge incumbent state Supreme Court Justice Charlie Bethel in the May 19 nonpartisan election. But she said she’s not dropping her lawsuit.
Beskin, a former Republican state lawmaker, and former Democratic congressman John Barrow of Athens both filed suit this week when state election officials canceled the election to a different seat on Georgia’s highest court, that of Justice Keith Blackwell.
Blackwell also faced re-election in May to another six-year term. But the court announced last week that Blackwell plans to resign in November and that Republican Gov. Brian Kemp plans to appoint his replacement.
The lawsuits target Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who oversees Georgia elections. They argue Raffensperger can’t legally cancel an election to make way for the governor to fill an office that won’t be vacant until six months later.