Judge will order a new Macon-Bibb County election in District 2 | Elections | Macon.com

A judge said Tuesday he will order a new election in the Macon-Bibb County District 2 commission race, but it’s unlikely to be scheduled before the new government gets seated.

Senior Superior Court Judge Stephen E. Boswell told Lee Parks, the attorney for apparent winner Larry Schlesinger, he knew of the expense and aggravation of another election but that he had no other choice.

“The only thing I can do, Mr. Parks, is to order a new election, which I’m going to do,” Boswell said during Tuesday’s hearing.

Attorneys for Schlesinger, challenger Henry Ficklin and the Macon-Bibb County Board of Elections are supposed to confer on how that election should be handled. Boswell noted the election’s timing and other details are almost as important as whether to have a new election.

In the end, all sides agreed the Oct. 15 runoff election was flawed. The new election would be a reprise only of the District 2 election between Ficklin and Schlesinger, leaving intact voters’ decisions in the other commission races and the mayor’s race. Paul Bronson, who lost in the September general election for District 2, will not be part of the new runoff race.

The District 2 race was by far the closest of the nine commission races. Schlesinger won by just 26 votes. But Ficklin’s research turned up more than enough voters who were in the wrong district to cast doubt on the results.

Ficklin sued to challenge the results, saying the election was flawed.

via Judge will order a new Macon-Bibb County election in District 2 | Elections | Macon.com.