Updated 4 p.m.
Cobb County's Sunday alcohol sales vote is being taken to court.
Marietta lawyer Justin O'Dell of Cauthron, Nohr & O’Dell filed a petition in today to ask for a revote that includes the residents of the county's six cities as well as those who live in unincorporated areas, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Asked about the county's response, Cobb government spokesman Robert Quigley emailed: "The county will be in court and will provide information to the judge as to what our opinion was based on."
County Board of Commissioners Chairman Tim Lee acknowledged to the AJC and the MDJ that excluding city residents was a mistake.
If a judge agrees, O'Dell said, the only option is to throw out the March 6 vote and hold another election, the AJC reported.
What's the point of voting again? Is the principle worth it? Tell us in the comment space below.
The first opportunity to revote would be the July 31 election, which will include a referendum on a and primaries for state and county offices. As with the March 6 vote, the county would avoid the additional expense of a special election by piggybacking on an existing election.
Original Report
The Sunday alcohol referendom that in may have hit a snag.
In the March 6 primary only those in unincorporated Cobb County voted on a the referendum. Some are questioning whether residents in Cobb's six cities should have been able to vote on it as well.
In , all residents, cities included, , even though Woodstock, and had separate city-only referendums at the same time.
Kennesaw Mayor Mark Maththews told The Marietta Daily Journal he was surprised when he went to vote to find that he didn't get to vote on the county referendum.
have passed their own Sunday sales referendums but should have been allowed a say in the countywide vote, Mathews said.
The chairman of the , Tim Lee, said the county got bad information on the process from the county attorney.
Justin O’Dell with the Marietta law firm Cauthron, Nohr & O’Dell told the MDJ he intends to file a petition for a new election on behalf of former state Rep. Roger Hines of Kennesaw.
The deadline for such a suit is Friday, March 16.
Lee said if someone files suit today and a judge agrees on a new election, he could put the question on the July 31 ballot.
If you scale the logic of the principle that was applied in this instance, then county residents shouldn't be able to vote on statewide issues, and state residents shouldn't be able to vote on federal issues. All county residents should have a vote in every county ballot question, not just those residents living in the unincorporated sections of the county. And if we just shrug our shoulders and let this poorly executed decision pass, then we set a bad precedent that might be used to do the same thing again in the future. Incidentally, my position on Sunday alcohol sales is independent of my position on whether there should be a re-vote. I support Sunday alcohol sales.