Carry Smith wanted to do her own research on a few local candidates before casting her ballot, but what she found upended the race for District 2 county commissioner.

Smith, a political scientist and former Savannah State University professor, found that Tony Riley, the Democratic candidate for District 2, had a felony conviction on his record which he finished serving time for less than 10 years ago.

Under Georgia law, that disqualifies him as a candidate.

These developments come amid a tumultuous week in the County Commissions District 2 election, after the Board of Elections narrowly voted Oct. 12 to challenge Rileys qualification based on Smiths complaint, submitted the day before. Her research revealed a 1995 felony conviction on his record for conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

Hodge Letter by savannahnow.com

Smith said she believes the public should know who theyre voting for. Thats why she took her findings to Chatham County Board of Elections Chairman Tom Mahoney and Board Member Debbie Rauers around six weeks after she started researching the race.

Additionally, Smith said, if Rileys ineligibility was discovered after the election, it could lead to criminal charges.

"I think it's better to hold somebody accountable before they get elected, and before they take the oath, so it does not disqualify them in the future," Smith said.

Smith says she has endured many contentious conversations with upset Democrats since last week. Smith, who considers herself an Independent, said she didnt expect to be called by name at the Oct. 12 meeting.

"When I submitted that to Mr. Mahoney and Miss Rauers, I had no idea that my name would be brought up in the meeting," Smith said. "But as a political scientist, I think that everyone deserves to be heard."

Riley has vowed to "fight" and alleged he was being "bamboozled" by the board.

"This is the Lord's way of testing my faith," Riley said of his candidacy challenge, while characterizing himself as a victim of the War on Drugs and mass-incarceration policies that he says led to his 1995 drug bust and 16-year sentence. "I accidentally stumbled into it because of an addiction. ... Yes, I have a record. Twenty-five years ago, I made a mistake."

Nonetheless, Riley said that efforts to disqualify him this late in the election cycle are part of an ongoing effort by Republicans to suppress Democratic Black leaders, which he calls "high-tech Jim Crow foolishness."

Smith said she agrees with Riley on the topic of systemic racism and sympathizes with him but that the public still deserves to know the answers to two questions: Did he know he was ineligible, and if so, why did he choose to run anyway?

"I understand how he feels, because there is clear systemic racism going on in the United States. It does happen," Smith said. "Here's the man defending himself, but why does the public still not have answers to these questions?"

Riley and the local Democratic Party appealed and will argue their case to allow the race to go forward at a disqualification hearing set for Oct. 27.

"He has a right to a hearing. He has a right to speak out," Smith said. "That is his constitutional right, his freedom of speech."

Read more:

'The public deserves to know': County Commission complaint against Tony Riley was filed after six weeks of research - Savannah Morning News