Lowndes Co. Board of Elections holds hearing for disqualified candidate

VALDOSTA, Ga. (WALB) - On Tuesday afternoon, Lowndes County Board of Elections held a hearing requested by Nick Harden after he was disqualified from running.

Harden was running for a seat on the Valdosta City School Board as a write-in candidate.

According to the Board of Elections, he submitted his paperwork after the deadline.

State law states those who qualify have seven days after the close of the qualifying period which was Aug. 20, and the last day would have been Aug. 27. However, Harden’s paperwork wasn’t submitted until Sept. 14.

It appears the error was not discovered until Harden was deemed qualified by the board.

“I’m shattered, I’m hurting because we put a lot of time and effort into this, a lot of folks supported, a lot of money has been spent from folks who donated and I just don’t think that is right this process has gone like this,” said Harden.

The Board of Elections voted unanimously that he is not qualified because of the state’s time limits.

Votes already cast during early voting for Harden will not be counted.

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