Questions have been raised if Secretary of State Brian Kemp, whose office oversees the statewide elections process, has a conflict of interest while running for governor and if there is a post-election dispute. What most of the mainstream media doesn’t report is that there is a mechanism already in place involving administrative judges and an appeal process where he would have to recuse himself during an election dispute.
That’s why former state Rep. Edward Lindsay, now an attorney with the Dentons firm, doesn’t believe there is a real issue should there be an election dispute. He provides some additional perspective:
“Historically in Georgia, some secretary of states have stayed in office — Cathy Cox a Democrat in 2006 — and others have resigned early — Karen Handel a Republican in 2010 and Max Cleland a Democrat in 1996. Whether to stay in office or resign usually revolved more around the problem that an office holder candidate cannot raise money during our legislative session than ethical concerns. I imagine if (Kemp) had resigned early his opponent would be screaming that he had abandoned his office for political gain.”
Lindsey, however, says that states around the country are looking at this “conflict” issue regarding secretaries of state who run for another office and just because things have been one way in the past doesn’t mean we should continue in the future. He concludes: “The bottom line, though, is thanks in part to Brian Kemp and his office, we have more Georgians than ever going to the polls this year in a non-presidential year and that is a good thing for democracy.”
