MACON COUNTY, Ga. — Macon County's Board of Elections unanimously voted to remove the Democratic Sheriff Candidate Jeffery Canady from the November ballot.
When Canady qualified to run in the Democratic Primary in May, his sheriff's certification status was "pending" under a review by the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council. That status is allowed in the qualifying rules.
However, in June his certification was revoked by the council and they said they never received an appeal from Canady.
To become a sheriff in Georgia, you have to take an oath. However, there are several tasks in the oath that Canady would not be able to complete without his POST Certification.
His certification was revoked after he took a guilty plea for Simple Battery, a misdemeanor charge in 2019. At the time, he worked for the Macon County School District.
POST documents say a student hit him in the back, and he pushed her against the wall, knocked her down and broke her glasses.
It also says the student claimed to be joking around when she slapped him on the back. She said the incident was her fault and she didn't want Canady to get in trouble.
Canady would not be able to reapply for his certification for two years.
During Friday's meeting, board members weighed their options. State law says that candidates have until six months after taking office to become POST certified. Due to this, the election board could have left him on the ballot, but they'd have to remove him six months later if he won.
"If he goes in and wins, then we have to get rid of him and then we have to have another election that will only cost the county more money," said Janice Poole, the Board of Elections Chairperson. "We looked at the budget, trying to save the county money because he's not certified."
The board agreed. A special election could cost the county $8,500.
With this in mind, the board decided to disqualify Canady. They cited state election code for being able to disqualify him.
Canady said he plans to appeal the board's decision. Other interested candidates have until September 1 to qualify. They'll be write-in candidates.
If no one qualifies, Republican Richard Martin will be the only name on the November ballot.
The office is currently occupied by Gene Hardage Jr. He took over when Sheriff Leonard Johnson died in May from medical problems. Johnson had decided not to run for reelection.