Elections officials are scrambling after a judge ruled late Friday that Atlanta City Council candidate Matthew Cardinale was improperly removed from the ballot with early voting starting Monday at 8:30 a.m.

“I am ecstatic; I am elated,” said Cardinale, who has a law degree but has not sat for the Georgia bar exam. “They tried to keep me off the ballot, but all I ever wanted was to serve the people of District 3. Now I’ll have the opportunity to earn their votes.”