Summary
holding that the appellant was ineligible to contest the election because he had been convicted of "felonies involving moral turpitude" and was thus not eligible to vote
Summary of this case from Anderson v. StateOpinion
32095.
ARGUED MARCH 21, 1977.
DECIDED APRIL 6, 1977. REHEARING DENIED APRIL 22, 1977.
Election contest; constitutional question. Clayton Superior Court. Before Judge Tillman.
Oze R. Horton, for appellant.
John R. McCannon, Glaze, Glaze, McNally Glaze, George E. Glaze, Kirby A. Glaze, for appellee.
John J. Mathews brought this election contest against Kathryn Gibbs, Probate Judge of Clayton County, who was a candidate for reelection in the contested primary. Mathews claims she did not meet the qualifications for the position under Code Ann. § 24-1711.1. Judge Gibbs filed a motion to dismiss, which was granted by the trial court. Mathews appeals. We affirm.
One of the grounds for the motion to dismiss was Mathews' ineligibility to contest the election. Code Ann. § 34-1702 provides that an election may be contested "by any aggrieved elector who was entitled to vote . . ." Judge Gibbs introduced at the hearing certified copies of Mathews' felony convictions by juries for burglary and receiving stolen goods, both crimes involving moral turpitude. Therefore, under the Georgia Constitution, Art. II, Sec. II, Par. I (Code § 2-801), Mathews was not eligible to vote, and thus, not an "aggrieved elector" able to contest the election.
Since this ground alone is sufficient to sustain on appeal the trial court's dismissal of Mathews' complaint, we need not reach the other issues raised, including the constitutional attack on Code Ann. § 24-1711.1. The trial court must be affirmed.
Judgment affirmed. Nichols, C. J., Jordan, Ingram, Hall and Hill, JJ., concur.