No more "Sonny Perdue." No - for real - no more "Sonny Perdue." By a two to one (2-1) vote, the State Election Board voted on October 26, 2009 to pass a rule that changes the way names appear on Georgia ballots.
When the rule was presented, Board Member Dave Worley, the appointee of the Democratic Party of Georgia, could not resist and asked with some noticeable amusement whether the rule would have prevented Governor Perdue's name from appearing on the ballot as just "Sonny Perdue." The answer was "yes."
Specifically, the new rule requires that "[a] candidate's name shall include a family surname and a given or first name, or an abbreviated version of such given first name or appropriate initials such as 'Bob' for Robert, 'Jim' for James, 'Wm' for William, or 'S' for Samuel."
The name on the ballot may include a nickname, subject to approval by the election superintendent. But the nickname may only appear "immediately before the last name."
And, the whole name (including the nickname) cannot exceed twenty-five (25) characters, including spaces.
The rule will now be posted on the State Election Board website (www.gaseb.org) for public comment before final consideration at the next State Election Board meeting.
So, under this new rule, there is no more "Sonny Perdue." Governor Perdue's name could appear as "George Ervin 'Sonny' Perdue III", "G. Ervin 'Sonny' Perdue III" or "G. E. 'Sonny' Perdue III", but NOT just "Sonny Perdue."
What does this mean for the 2010 elections? Well, the ballot can be "Lowell S. 'Casey' Cagle" but not just "Casey Cagle." It can be "William 'Chip' Rogers," but not just "Chip Rogers." The list goes on and on.
Interestingly, the Presiding Officer for the State Election Board during the vote on this rule was none other than Vice Chairman Tex McIver. "Tex" is not his legal name.
Under the proposed rule, if he were to decide to run for political office, his name would have to appear on a ballot as "Claude L. 'Tex' McIver" or some abbreviation thereof.
Of course, Southerners, especially Georgians, are no strangers to nicknames. Indeed, a typical family reunion here in Georgia (based on personal experience) might include "Chip," "Bubba," "Buddy," "Sonny," "Junior," "Amp," "Casey," "Lefty," "Buck," "Curly," "Bo," "Kip," "Jimbo," "Tip," "Trey," "Dutch," "Ned," "Peggy," "Birdie," "Rosie" and "Mag."
And these do not even include some of the more colorful nicknames floating around out there.
Poor Braves star Chipper Jones would have to be "Larry Wayne 'Chipper' Jones" or "L. W. 'Chipper' Jones." Now, many voters could probably figure out who it was. But, for those who do not follow baseball, maybe not.
Think about "Andrea 'Pulpwood' Smith." Nobody knows who that is.
But if it is just "Pulpwood Smith," then virtually every Georgia Bulldog fan knows exactly who that is. (And let us not forget Eddie "Meat Cleaver" Weaver.)
Or, how about "Eldrick Tont Woods?"
Of course, everybody knows him simply as "Tiger Woods," yet there could never be just "Tiger Woods" on a Georgia ballot under this new rule.
Nicknames are so important that some candidates even adopt nicknames when they run for office.
Case in point - "Bobby Baker" - the popular and effective Georgia Public Service Commissioner who was "Robert Baker" before his first bid for public office. Now, everyone just knows him as "Bobby."
The issue extends well beyond the 2010 Election cycle into the Presidential cycle. No "Mitt Romney" - instead "Willard Mitt Romney," or an abbreviation thereof; no "Tim Pawlenty" - instead "Timothy James 'Tim' Pawlenty;" no "Newt Gingrich" - instead "Newton Leroy 'Newt' Gingrich." But then, President Barack Hussein Obama is fine.
The new rule also makes for some interesting variations for Georgia's Congressional delegation. Next year, look for "Henry C. 'Hank' Johnson, Jr.", "John Heddens 'Jack' Kingston", and "John Phillip 'Phil' Gingrey."
Why the rule change? Well, there was a concern that someone might try to use the name "Jane 'Fair Tax' Doe." Of course, as "Able Mable Thomas" once proved, any candidate can circumvent ballot rules by simply legally changing her or his name. In actuality, it really is not much of a problem at all. According to the records provided to the State Election Board, the total number of concerns over this issue during the entire history of Georgia's elections has been less than ten (10).
Yet, there will be a new rule for names on the Georgia ballot . . . unless the public expresses sufficient concern to persuade some state election board members to vote down the proposed rule. As comedian Bill Saluga might say: "Ahh, ya doesn't has to call me Johnson! You can call me Ray, or you can call me Jay, or you can call me Johnny or you can call me Sonny, or you can call me RayJay, or you can call me RJ... but ya doesn't hafta call me Johnson." Actually, to be on Georgia's ballot, you would have to call him "George Ervin 'Sonny' Perdue III."
Evans is a regular columnist for this paper and is counsel for the Georgia Republican Party. |
