One of the five candidates seeking Georgia's Ninth Congressional seat in Congress has been disqualified from the race and any votes cast for him will not be counted.
John London was notified by the Georgia Secretary of State's office on April 1 that he had been disqualified, according to a spokesman. This came after the state Republican Party notified the secretary of state that London's check for the qualifying fee had bounced.
London's name will remain on the ballot, but no votes cast for him will be counted. Notifications of his disqualification should be posted at early voting locations and included in absentee ballots as they are mailed out.
London could not be reached immediately for comment.
The qualifying fee to be a candidate in the U.S. House race in Georgia is $5,220.
His disqualification leaves four candidates remaining in the race – incumbent Andrew Clyde, Mike Boggus, J. Gregory Howard and Ben Souther.
London initially qualified for the race during the qualifying period in early March. Shortly after his check was returned for having insufficient funds, the state Republican Party allowed London several opportunities to make the payment, but he failed to do so.
On March 31, the state party sent an email to the Secretary of State notifying them that London was not qualified. The secretary of state spokesman said London was notified the next day. But it was almost a month later – April 29 – when the secretary of state's office announced London could not be a candidate in the race.
