All The Governor's Men

Georgia had its own controversial election for Chief Executive, reminiscent of the seemingly never-ending presidential election of December 2000: the Governor's election of 1946.

With more twists, intrigue, and political chicanery than any work of fiction, the 1946 election led to three men simultaneously claiming the title of Governor of Georgia. Eugene Talmadge was elected, but he died before the inauguration. The Lt. Gov.-Elect, M.E. Thompson, believed he would be the new governor until the next general election, but Gene Talmadge supporters used ambiguous wording in the Georgia Constitution to install Herman Talmadge, Eugene's son, as governor. Incumbent governor, Ellis Arnall, considered Herman a "pretender" to the governorship and refused to leave office until a proper successor was chosen.

And so, Georgia's "Three Governors" controversy was born. The State Supreme Court resolved the issue when it removed Herman Talmadge and named Thompson acting Governor. A later investigation revealed that a mysterious number of the Telfair County write-in votes for Herman Talmadge were cast in alphabetical order, many by dead people!

The "Three Governors" controversy has now been dramatized for radio in a production written by Edgar award-winning author Walter Sorrells that features actual recordings of the main protagonists balanced with re-created scenes and music from the period.