In July 2026, a formal ethics complaint was filed with the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission against Mitchell Horner, candidate for Georgia House District 3. It has since become part of the public record. This page provides the primary source documents so voters can review them directly.
Case No. 26-0065-C • Filed With the Commission July 20, 2026
When this complaint became public, I contacted Robert Nolen, the individual who filed it, and asked for permission to share the underlying documents with voters. He agreed.
What follows are facts, not opinions: the complaint as filed, the records attached to it, and what has changed in Mr. Horner's disclosure reports since it was filed. The Ethics Commission has not issued a ruling on these allegations. Voters can draw their own conclusions.
After a Complaint Has Been Filed
A Complaint Is Screened Before Anyone Is Notified
Georgia law doesn't send every ethics complaint straight to the person it names. Commission staff screen each complaint first, and a notice only goes out once it clears that screen. Here's how that works, per the Commission's own description of the process.
1
Staff Review the Complaint
Commission staff decide whether the allegations are legally sufficient: whether they indicate a possible violation of the Act.
×
Not Legally Sufficient → Dismissed
Staff dismiss the complaint with no further investigation. Nothing is sent to the respondent.
2
Legally Sufficient → Case Opened
Staff forward a copy of the sworn complaint to the respondent within 3 business days of receipt.
The complaint alleges four violations of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Act (O.C.G.A. §§ 21-5-1 through 21-5-76), based on Mitchell4StateHouse's own disclosure reports and those filed independently by other committees and groups. All public record. A summary of each allegation, as stated in the complaint:
The complaint identifies seven contributions totaling $14,400.00, reported by five other campaign committees and one PAC (Kasey for a Better Georgia accounts for two of the seven transactions) as paid to Mitchell Horner or Mitchell4StateHouse between April 2025 and April 2026, that do not appear on any of Mitchell4StateHouse's own disclosure reports.
The complaint identifies 134 payments totaling $10,519.68, paid directly to Mitchell Horner between approximately August 2025 and April 2026 and classified as itemized expenditures or reimbursements, for which the disclosure reports list no end-recipient name, address, or itemized amount, as required by Commission rule when a candidate is reimbursed for expenses paid to a third party. The complaint cites two examples where vendor information appearing in the reports' general purpose field, rather than the required end-recipient field, describes a dry-cleaning charge ($48.00) and a haircut at a hair salon ($25.00).
The complaint identifies 43 transactions totaling $14,510.05, across 21 distinct payees, for which the payee address listed on Mitchell4StateHouse's expenditure disclosures does not correspond to the vendor's actual location. The largest single item cited: two payments totaling $13,606.00 to "Edgerton Strategy," listed at a Chattanooga, TN retail shopping center address, which the complaint identifies as unconnected to the political consulting firm Edgerton Strategies, based in Bethesda, MD.
The complaint alleges that two committees' contributions to Mitchell Horner exceeded Georgia's $3,300 per-election contribution cap: Citizens for Rick Jasperse ($5,300.00 total across three transactions, $2,000.00 over the cap) and Kasey for a Better Georgia ($3,500.00, $200.00 over the cap).
These are allegations as stated in the complaint. The Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission has not issued a ruling. The complaint and the transaction-analysis spreadsheet referenced throughout it are available to download below.
The Complaint
The complaint as filed with the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, including the Commission's notice, certificate of service, and statement of facts.
The supporting spreadsheet cited in the complaint: discrepancy analysis, contribution-limit review, self-payment tracking, and expenditure address verification.
Since the complaint was filed, Mitchell4StateHouse has continued to file with the Commission: the Apr 30 and Jul 31 CCDRs have each been amended multiple times, the Jan 31 CCDR has been amended once, and the Two Business Day Report has not been amended. (The Jul 31 CCDR's original filing was itself submitted after the complaint became public.) Georgia's CCDR filing system marks every line item that differs from the original filing directly on the amended report, so each version's changes can be verified against the public record. The table below summarizes every version of every report Mitchell4StateHouse has filed for the 2026 cycle.
All Filings At A Glance
Report Period
Versions Filed
Original Filed
Latest Version Filed
Line-Item Changes
2026 Jan 31 CCDR
2 (V1–V2)
02/08/2026
08/12/2026
142
2026 Apr 30 CCDR
5 (V1–V5)
05/07/2026
08/13/2026
22
2026 Jul 31 CCDR
4 (V1–V4)
08/07/2026
08/13/2026
19
Two Business Day Report
1 (V1 only)
05/07/2026
Not amended
0
2026 Jan 31 CCDR
Amended once • 142 line-item changes
125 expenditures listed as paid to the committee itself were reassigned to the actual vendors paid (131 total struck lines). A previously undisclosed $7,500.00 loan balance was added.
2026 Apr 30 CCDR
Amended 4 times • 22 line-item changes
New contributions were added, including two $3,300.00 contributions cited in Allegation I. One contribution's source was later corrected from "Committee to Elect Matt Dubnik" to "Georgians for Tomorrow Inc."
2026 Jul 31 CCDR
Amended 3 times • 19 line-item changes
Four expenditures totaling $3,160.00 paid to the candidate were removed. $160.00 came back as reimbursements naming end recipients; the remaining $3,000.00 was reassigned within the loan schedule. The loan schedule expanded to a $3,500.00 balance.
Aggregate Totals: All Amended Reports (2026 Jan 31, Apr 30 & Jul 31 CCDRs)
Type
Edited
Added
Deleted
Total
Contributions
1
6
0
7
Expenditures
125
2
13
140
Reimbursements
0
8
2
10
Loans
0
26
0
26
All Types
126
42
15
183
All of Mitchell4StateHouse's Filed Reports
Every version of every 2026 disclosure report Mitchell4StateHouse has filed with the Commission: 12 PDFs in all, as filed.
A note on timing: The reports above reflect the latest version of each filing as of August 13, 2026. Candidates can continue to amend past disclosure reports at any time. For anything filed after this date, search Filing Entity ID 102679 directly at the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission's public filing search, peachfile.ethics.ga.gov.
What's Next
A Complaint Starts a Process, Not a Verdict
Investigations can run brief or long, depending on the allegations and how easily the evidence can be obtained. Here's what the Commission's own enforcement process lays out for what happens from here.
1
30 Days to Respond
The respondent may answer in writing. He is not required to.
2
Investigation
Staff audit the applicable reports, research, interview, request documents, and may issue subpoenas.
3
Investigative Report
Staff recommend how to resolve the case, and may refer it to law enforcement for criminal investigation.
4
Preliminary Hearing
The Commission hears evidence and decides whether there are reasonable grounds to believe a violation occurred.
5
Dismissal, or Further Hearings
No reasonable grounds and the case is dismissed. Reasonable grounds and it proceeds under the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act, with 30 days first to resolve the matter with staff.
If a Violation Is Found
The Commission Can Order Corrections and Civil Penalties
It May Order the Violator To
1
Cease and Desist From Violating the Act
2
Refile and Correct the Reports at Issue
3
Refer the Case for Criminal Investigation and Prosecution
Civil Penalty Ceilings
$1,000
Per violation, first violation
$10,000
Per violation, second violation
$25,000
Per violation, third or subsequent
A knowing violation is also a misdemeanor. But the Commission cannot remove a candidate from the ballot or an official from office. That authority sits elsewhere.