The U.S. Dept. of Justice has cleared the way for the vote on the city of South Fulton, likely to be held in September. The clearance came in a July 10 letter to Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker.

“The Attorney General does not interpose any objection to the specified changes” in the amendment to the boundaries of the city of South Fulton, DOJ voting Section chief John Tanner said in the letter. Those amended boundaries came after Atlanta, Palmetto, Fairburn and Union City annexed more than 13,000 acres contained within the city limits of the new city after those boundaries were originally laid out in Senate Bill 552 and adopted in 2006. An attempt to address annexation questions came in the 2007 legislative session came in the form of House Bill 725. But the bill did little more than redefine the city limits after the 2006 annexations. It also extend the annexation date until April, allowing the city of Atlanta time to annex more acreage.

The vote originally set for June 19 was delayed because a signature by Gov. Sonny Perdue on the current enabling legislation, House Bill 725, did not provide the required amount of time needed to properly advertise the election. The delay involved a procedural process under Georgia statutes requiring that an election be advertised more than 29 days before the vote, Fulton County Registration Chief John Sullivan said in an earlier statement. The time frame for the June 19 had expired by the time Perdue signed HB 725 into law, Sullivan said.

Another hurdle to the September involved a pre-clearance by U.S. Dept. of Justice. The approval process customarily takes approximately 60 days.

A vote in September would present no obstacle in terms of properly advertising the election. The remaining hold up was a clearance from Justice. Now with Justice clearance, the vote should come in September.

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