A special election on May 21st will pit Republican-appointed incumbent Justice Andrew Pinson against former Democrat Congressman John Barrow for Georgia Supreme Court Justice. While judicial races are nonpartisan, this race will likely be a deciding factor in state reproductive rights — an issue crossing party lines in the post-Dobbs era. Early voting starts Monday, April 29th, and this is what we know about each candidate.
Incumbent Andrew Pinson helped overturn Roe v Wade as state appellate lawyer. He also defended the controversial Georgia heartbeat bill in federal court. He was appointed in 2022 by Governor Brian Kemp. He is an officer in the Federalist Society, a nationalist conservative organization. He also clerked for conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He stated to 11Alive that:
“Our code of ethics prohibits judicial candidates from commenting on issues that may come before the court because prejudging cases would rob the parties of justice. I am running on my record as a fair and impartial judge with bipartisan support from all over Georgia.”
Challenger John Barrow served as a Georgia Congressman for five terms and spent 15 years in local government. In his time in Congress, he was regarded as the most bipartisan member of the House of Representatives. He is an experienced litigator, including work with underserved populations through Legal Aid. His political stance for this race, in his own words, is that:
“We need Justices on the Georgia Supreme Court who will protect the rights of women and their families to make the most personal family and healthcare decisions they’ll ever make.”
He further stated,
“I believe that Georgians have the same rights under the Georgia Constitution that we used to have under Roe v Wade. And it’s clear from my opponent’s record that he believes that we do not. That’s the central issue in this election.”
Although it’s a nonpartisan race, the lines on reproductive health have been clearly drawn. On one side, there’s Pinson who votes in support of limiting reproductive freedom and choice. On the other, there’s the challenger John Barrow whose stance and history demonstrates his ongoing support of leaving reproductive decisions in the hands of women and families. Other races have shown that when choice is on the ballot, voters will show up to make their opinions heard.
While reproductive healthcare decisions often focus on a pro-life or pro-choice argument, we’ve seen in recent elections that the issues for reproductive rights are far more extensive. They also encompass IVF, birth control, and life-saving measures for women’s health. Abortion is simply one component of a larger healthcare issue.
From April 29th to May 17th, early voting will take place in Georgia. The race will be decided in the Special Election on May 21st. There will be NO run-off and no further elections in this state Supreme Court race.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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Photo credit: Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash