UPDATE: Candidates for Forsyth County Sheriff Will Appear on Ballot

UPDATE: 5-29-12, 5:10 p.m.

Barbara Luth, supervisor of department, told Cumming Patch that all three candidates for sheriff will appear on the July 31 ballot.

"Our board has elected not to challenge any of those candidates and we are going forward right now to put all those candidates on the ballot," she said.

The meeting, that lasted for about 30 minutes, was held Tuesday afternoon by the Board of Registrations and Elections at the request of the Forsyth County GOP to look into the matter of the qualification status of the three sheriff’s candidates.

Tuesday, 5-29-12, 1 p.m.

The race for Forsyth County Sheriff continues to get hotter.

Questions have been raised over whether or not all of the Republican candidates, incumbent , and challengers  and , qualified as candidates for the race.

According to Barbara Luth, supervisor of department, all three candidates did turn in two important pieces of documentation: their birth certificates and high school diplomas.

"However, per the [Forsyth County] Republican Party, they had not turned them in by the close of qualifying [Friday, May 25 at noon]," said Luth. "So we're looking into that with our legal department to see what, if any, steps the Board of Registrations and Elections have to take."

Luth told Cumming Patch, she along with board members — Superintendent Donald Glover, Douglas Sorrells, and Matthew Blender — will meet with Forsyth County Attorney Ken Jarrard or someone from his office today at 3 p.m. to look into the matter.

Forsyth County GOP Chairman, Ethan Underwood said in a news release, “It is ultimately a candidate’s responsibility to make sure they research and comply with the legal requirements to properly qualify as a candidate. However, we have discovered there was some confusion among the Republican Party’s volunteers at its qualifying booth regarding that fact that most offices which require a high school diploma merely require qualifying candidates to certify via affidavit that they meet this requirement. It appears that some of the sheriff candidates were told by volunteers that copies of their diplomas were not necessary.”

The news release further states:

In addition, the volunteers were provided a Qualification Guidebook, dated April 10, 2012, issued by the Georgia Republican Party. This guidebook includes a list of qualifications for sheriff, and while the requirement of a certified copy of a candidate’s birth certificate is noted, the materials appear to have cut off a reference to the requirement that candidates provide certified copies of their high school diplomas.

Upon realization of these issues, the Forsyth GOP contacted each of the three sheriff’s candidates and each has since delivered his original high school diploma and a certified copy of his birth certificate to the local party.

"All of the candidates qualify, everyone was born in the United States and has provided a certified birth certificate and all have provided copies of their [high school] diplomas," Underwood told Cumming Patch. "So they certainly meet the qualifications to run for office, we just want to make sure that all of them are put on the ballot. That's what we are requesting, but because we did not have that information in hand at noon on Friday then we have to get clarification from the Board of Elections as to whether or not they met the requirements.

Underwood further said in the news release, “It is the Forsyth County Republican Party’s first priority that elections laws be complied with," said Underwood. "However, we do not want candidates who meet the criteria for office to be disqualified on a technicality. It is our desire that all three of these candidates appear on the July 31 ballot so that voters have the opportunity to choose the best candidate to carry the Republican standard in the General Election.”

Stay with Cumming Patch on this developing story.