Tabitha Ponder

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Tabitha Ponder

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Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 21, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Albany State University, 1996

Personal

Religion

Baptist Christian

Profession

Judge

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Tabitha Ponder ran for election for judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals. She lost in the general election on May 21, 2024.

Ponder completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Tabitha Ponder earned a bachelor's degree from Albany State University in 1996. Her career experience includes working as a judge, mediator, and arbitrator.

Elections

2024

See also: Georgia intermediate appellate court elections, 2024

General election

General election for Georgia Court of Appeals

Jeff Davis defeated Tabitha Ponder in the general election for Georgia Court of Appeals on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Jeff Davis (Nonpartisan)	57.1	636,193
	Submit photo	Tabitha Ponder (Nonpartisan)	42.9	477,885

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,114,078
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Ponder in this election.

2020

See also: Georgia intermediate appellate court elections, 2020

General election

General election for Georgia Court of Appeals

Incumbent Sara Doyle won election in the general election for Georgia Court of Appeals on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sara Doyle (Nonpartisan)	100.0	1,941,037

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,941,037
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Tabitha Ponder (Nonpartisan)
• Audrey Berland (Nonpartisan)
• Nicole Leet (Nonpartisan)
• Lyndsey Rudder (Nonpartisan)
• Bennett Bryan (Nonpartisan)
• Judy Aust (Nonpartisan)
• Kimberly Bourroughs Debrow (Nonpartisan)

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Tabitha Ponder completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Ponder's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a proud native of Georgia and a part-time Magistrate Judge for Cobb County, and in 2021, I launched a very successful mediation practice with Miles Mediation and Arbitration. I formerly served as an insurance defense counsel and assistant public defender. For the majority of my legal career, I have owned and operated a successful small law office, wherein we focus on helping individuals who are injured, injured consumers, and families with real estate needs. I am now a candidate for the newly opened seat on the Georgia Court of Appeals. I am running for the seat currently held by one of my mentors, Judge Yvette Miller, who chose not to seek reelection after serving for more than 25 years. Her dedication and unwavering commitment to the State of Georgia is impeccable.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I am the only candidate with judicial experience.
• I have been a litigator for more than 20 years.
• I have a proven record of being fair, hardworking and transparent.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am very concerned with citizens having access to justice. I am from a rural area in Georgia and know first-hand how limited legal resources are in some parts of Georgia. In fact, we currently have 6 counties with no lawyers in the community.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Being fair, honest and treating everyone with respect are some of the important principles for an elected official. A judge should always follow the rule of law.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I began my legal career as an Insurance Defense Attorney for Clyatt, Clyatt, & Golden in Valdosta, Georgia, and eventually served as an Indigent Defense Attorney for the Tift Judicial Circuit, both of which sharpened my focus on serving Georgia families. After working for a private firm and in public service, I decided to open my own law firm dedicated to serving a wider spectrum to the citizens of Georgia. I opened a firm in North and South Georgia and practice throughout the state.

I am part-time Magistrate Judge in Cobb County and I currently staff the Georgia Judicial Council’s Access to Justice Committee under the leadership of Justice Colvin. I continue to serve as a Special Master for Cobb County Superior Court and previously served my alma mater, Albany State University, for 7 years as a U.S. History & Georgia Government/Pre-Law Adjunct Professor.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

The citizens should understand the importance of this court, as it is the court of last resort for approximately 80% of all appealed cases. Our Court of Appeals is one of the busiest intermediate appellate courts in the United States.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2020

Tabitha Ponder did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Tabitha Ponder campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Georgia Court of Appeals	Lost general	$-38,150	$8,400
Grand total			$-38,150	$8,400
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

See also

2024 Elections

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Candidate

Georgia Court of Appeals

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Footnotes

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