Lawsuit challenges delays in PSC elections

ATLANTA — Two environmental and consumer advocacy groups filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday accusing the state of violating Georgia’s Constitution by unilaterally postponing elections to the state Public Service Commission.

The suit, filed by Georgia WAND and Georgia Conservation Voters, follows last month’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear an appeal of a lawsuit brought in 2022 challenging the way PSC members are elected.

In the previous case, four Black Fulton County residents argued that electing members of the PSC statewide rather than by district dilutes Black voting strength in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act, making it more difficult for Black voters to elect a candidate of their choice.

A lower federal court agreed and ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, but the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals overturned that decision. The Supreme Court’s decision not to take up the case means statewide PSC elections that had been delayed while the lawsuit was pending now may go forward.

Under the timetable the Republican-controlled General Assembly approved in March, elections for PSC districts 2 and 3 — now held by Commissioner Tim Echols and Commissioner Fitz Johnson, respectively — will take place next year. The election for District 5 will be held in 2026, and elections for PSC districts 1 and 4 will take place in 2028.

The new lawsuit filed Wednesday argues that postponing PSC elections in 2022 and again this year allowed the sitting commission members to approve the largest utility rate increases in Georgia history, putting an additional burden on ratepayers that might have been avoided had elections been held in a timely manner.

Giving multiple sitting commissioners an extra two years in office is illegal because Georgia’s Constitution requires PSC terms run for six years and cannot be lengthened without a constitutional amendment.

“The illegal postponement of PSC elections in Georgia is an attack on our constitutional right to vote and the state’s constitutional mandate to hold statewide elections within the time frame governed by the law,” said Kimberly Scott, executive director of Georgia WAND.

During the legislative debate over setting a new timetable for PSC elections, Republican leaders argued the General Assembly was being forced to delay the elections when the 2022 lawsuit dragged on without a ruling.