Editor’s note: The MDJ counts down the Top 10 local stories of 2024 as determined by newsroom staff. Today’s installment is No. 2.
After nearly two years of legal tests, Cobb County’s “home rule” map was struck down as unconstitutional by Cobb Superior Court Judge Kellie Hill, who ordered new elections for the Board of Commissioners be held under the proper district lines.
The home rule map was passed by the commission’s Democratic majority in October 2022 with the express purpose of protecting Commissioner Jerica Richardson’s seat. Richardson was drawn out of District 2 in the map approved by the Republican-controlled Georgia Legislature in the spring of 2022.
The county’s attempt to implement its own map — a power historically exercised by state lawmakers — failed more than one legal test this year.
In January 2024, Cobb Superior Court Judge Ann Harris ruled that passage of the map was outside the commission’s authority after Cobb residents Catherine and David Floam filed suit. The Georgia Supreme Court reversed the decision in May after finding the Floams did not qualify for declaratory judgement, but never ruled on the merits of the case.