A hearing was held on Feb. 5 to determine whether Georgia House District 125 candidate C.J. Pearson meets the residency requirements to run for the seat.
Pearson is running as a Republican in a special election to replace Barry Fleming who has stepped down to accept an appointment for Superior Court in Columbia County.
The presiding judge, Stephanie Howells is expected to deliver a recommendation to Secretary of State Brian Raffensperger by Feb. 8.
Grovetown resident Addie Marie Carter filed the residency complaint shortly after Pearson announced he was running for the seat.
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According to Carter, she heard rumors about the candidate’s residency and decided to investigate the matter herself and says she believes that Pearson may not be qualified to run.
Carter represented herself at the hearing and attempted to enter into evidence “screenshots” of documents; however, Carter could not verify the authenticity of the screenshots and when asked who gave her the documents, Carter claimed she did not remember.
Meanwhile, Pearson’s attorney, Jake Evans, presented tax documents, as well as Pearson’s drivers license, showing that Pearson has always, since birth, been a citizen of Georgia, as well as Columbia County.
“We were able to show that I have lived in Columbia County all of my life, I went to school here, my picture is in the yearbook,” Pearson said.
Carter declined to make a comment following the hearing.
Pearson said that he is optimistic that the matter will end in his favor and will be over quickly.
“This is just another example of the Atlanta Swamp and how it operates. They can’t win with me on the issues, so they just try to take me off the ballot altogether,” Pearson said.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
