Why did the Georgia Supreme Court decide who had the right to be the governor following the 1946 gubernatorial election?

The governor-elect died and two people claimed they had the right to succeed him.

A.) One candidate won the popular vote and another won the county unit vote and both claimed they won the election.

B.) The write-in votes for one candidate had to be reviewed to see if they were valid.

C.) Georgia Governor Ellis Arnall claimed that voter fraud had taken place and demanded a recount of all votes.

D.) The governor-elect died and two people claimed they had the right to succeed him.

The answer is letter D, The governor-elect died and two people claimed that they had the right to succeed him.

Explanation:

The question above is related to the "Three Governors Controversy." This happened when Eugene Talmadge, a governor-elect, died. His death paved way to a chaotic event regarding the filling of the vacant position. There were primarily three claimants who wanted to consider the position: Herman Talmadge, Melvin E. Thompson and Ellis Arnall.

Herman Talmadge thought that he should be the next governor because he was the immediate son and was elected by the General Assembly. Melvin Thompson thught that he should be the next governor because he was the official lieutenant general. Elliz Arnall, on the other hand, was the outgoing general who didn't want to step down. However, later on, he gave up and supported Thompson. Now, there were only two remaining people who were claiming the position.

When Herman Talmadge won, Thompson made an appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court. After two months, the supreme court ruled that Thompson should be the governor because he was the lieutenant governor. Under the law, when a governor dies, the lieutenant governor-elect should take over the position.