Lewis Back On Ballot For GA State Senate Pending Appeal: Court Order

CARTERSVILLE, GA — District 52 State Senate candidate Jeff Lewis is back on the ballot pending appeal, thanks to a court order Thursday afternoon in Atlanta.

The order, signed by Judge Ural Glanville of the Superior Court of Fulton County, was handed down at about 3 p.m., according to Lewis’s attorney Lester Tate.

“We still firmly believe that the statute under which his opponent sought to disqualify him is unconstitutional and will be held invalid,” Tate said Thursday on Facebook, shortly after the order was made public.

Responding to a challenge from incumbent Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, an administrative court judge ruled on May 12 that Lewis was ineligible to run because he hadn't filed campaign-contribution disclosure reports since 2012. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger upheld the judge’s recommendation the next day, effectively knocking Lewis out of the running although his name was still on ballots.

The next step is for Glanville to hear Lewis’s appeal, time and date yet to be determined, according to Tate. Any decision Glanville makes will be subject to appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court.

“I just can’t express how thankful I am for the order and how thankful I am for all of my supporters out there who’ve been praying for me and who’ve been supportive through this process,” Lewis said to Patch.

In an email Friday to Patch, Hufstetler said he saw things differently.

"This could had been resolved a couple of months ago were it not for their continual stalling tactics hoping it could be delayed until after the election," he wrote.

RELATED: Lewis Disqualified From State Senate Primary Election