Bibb Lawmakers Weigh in On DOJ Request for Information on Nonpartisan Elections

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) —  Voters won’t cast any ballots on July 16th, and now the federal government will decide when Macon and Bibb County’s local elections will happen.

“I can’t tell you what’s going to happen right now,” said State Senator David Lucas.

Before a decision is made, the DOJ wants to know why Bibb County wants to drop party titles and move the election date from November to July. It wants to see documents, notes, and transcripts of all meetings on the subject. State Senator Cecil Staton says some of those items don’t exist.

“We are sort of in a limbo, and we’re going to be meeting with election law attorneys as quickly as we can to see what we might do,” said Staton.

That “we” does not include all of Bibb County’s lawmakers. State Representative Nikki Randall, says it’s not up to her to handle a situation she wasn’t a part of.

“There was never an official delegation meeting to discuss Senate Bill 25,” said Randall.

At the capitol, Lucas, Randall, and State Representative James Beverly fought the change in law but couldn’t rally enough support to block it. All three believe the change puts minority voters at a disadvantage. Lucas says that’s the red flag the DOJ saw.

“I think one of the things the Justice Department is questioning by this particular bill is that by holding the election in July has has a detrimental on the minority voting strength in this community. We all know it does statistically,” said Lucas.

Staton disagrees.

“It’s a very sad situation… We haven’t asked for anything that would violate anyone’s voting rights.”

It’s illegal for Bibb County to change elections without clearance from the DOJ. The Macon-Bibb County Board of Elections supervisor, Jeanetta Watson, says she’ll meet with the county attorney and board Friday morning to determine what their next step is.