---
title: SB 14. Elections; the nonpartisan election of district attorneys and solicitors-general of state courts; authorize the General Assembly
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb14
cite_as: SB 14, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb14
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb14.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb14/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69381
date: 2025-01-16
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 95
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb14.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 14
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-01-15
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- Ed Setzler
- Clint Dixon
- John Albers
- Shawn Still
- Kay Kirkpatrick
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB14/2025
upstream_id: 1922184
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- election rules
- district attorneys
- nonpartisan elections
- state courts
- judicial elections
---
# SB 14. Elections; the nonpartisan election of district attorneys and solicitors-general of state courts; authorize the General Assembly
## Text
25 LC 47 3127
Senate Bill 14
By: Senators Setzler of the 37th, Dixon of the 45th, Albers of the 56th, Still of the 48th and
Kirkpatrick of the 32nd
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 2 of Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
primaries and elections generally, so as to authorize the General Assembly to provide for the
nonpartisan election of district attorneys and solicitors-general of state courts; to provide for
the qualifying of such offices; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and
for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 2 of Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to primaries and
elections generally, is amended by revising paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (c) of Code
Section 21-2-132, relating to filing notice of candidacy, nomination petition, and affidavit,
reopening qualifying period, payment of qualifying fee, and pauper's affidavit and qualifying
petition for exemption from qualifying fee, as follows:
"(1) Each candidate for the office of district attorney when a local Act has been enacted
for the filling of such office in a nonpartisan election and each candidate for the office of
judge of the superior court, Judge of the Court of Appeals, or Justice of the Supreme
Court, or the candidate's agent, desiring to have his or her name placed on the nonpartisan
25 LC 47 3127
election ballot shall file a notice of candidacy, giving his or her name, residence address,
and the office sought, in the office of the Secretary of State no earlier than 9:00 A.M. on
the Monday of the eleventh week immediately prior to the election and no later
than 12:00 Noon on the Friday immediately following such Monday, notwithstanding the
fact that any such days may be legal holidays;
(2) Each candidate for solicitor-general of a state court, a county judicial office, a local
board of education office, or an office of a consolidated government, or the candidate's
agent, desiring to have his or her name placed on the nonpartisan election ballot shall file
notice of candidacy in the office of the superintendent no earlier than 9:00 A.M. on the
Monday of the eleventh week immediately prior to the election and no later than 12:00
Noon on the Friday immediately following such Monday, notwithstanding the fact that
any such days may be legal holidays;"
SECTION 2.
Said chapter is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 21-2-139, relating
to nonpartisan elections authorized and conduct, as follows:
"(a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter to the contrary, the General
Assembly may provide by local Act for the election in nonpartisan elections of candidates
to fill the office of district attorney, the office of solicitor-general of the state court, county
judicial offices, offices of local boards of education, and offices of consolidated
governments which are filled by the vote of the electors of said such judicial circuit,
county, or political subdivision. Except as otherwise provided in this Code section, the
procedures to be employed in such nonpartisan elections shall conform as nearly as
practicable to the procedures governing nonpartisan elections as provided in this chapter.
Except as otherwise provided in this Code section, the election procedures established by
any existing local law which provides for the nonpartisan election of candidates to fill
county offices shall conform to the general procedures governing nonpartisan elections as
25 LC 47 3127
provided in this chapter, and such nonpartisan elections shall be conducted in accordance
with the applicable provisions of this chapter, notwithstanding the provisions of any
existing local law. For those offices for which the General Assembly, pursuant to this
Code section, provided by local Act for election in nonpartisan primaries and elections,
such offices shall no longer require nonpartisan primaries. Such officers shall be elected
in nonpartisan elections held and conducted in conjunction with the general primary in
even-numbered years in accordance with this chapter without a prior nonpartisan primary.
This Code section shall apply to all nonpartisan elections for members of consolidated
governments. All nonpartisan elections for members of consolidated governments shall
be governed by the provisions of this Code section and shall be considered county elections
and not municipal elections for the purposes of this Code section. Nonpartisan elections
for municipal offices shall be conducted on the dates provided in the municipal charter."
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
A Georgia Senate bill would let the General Assembly authorize, through local acts, nonpartisan elections for district attorneys and state court solicitors-general, offices currently elected in partisan races.
### Plain-language summary
Under current Georgia law, district attorneys and solicitors-general of state courts are elected in partisan elections, while certain other local offices like county judges, school board members, and consolidated government officials can be elected on a nonpartisan basis if the General Assembly passes a local law allowing it. This bill adds district attorneys and solicitors-general to the list of offices that can be switched to nonpartisan elections through a local act.
The bill changes two sections of Georgia's election code (O.C.G.A. §§ 21-2-132 and 21-2-139). It updates the candidate qualifying procedures so that district attorney and solicitor-general candidates follow the same filing deadlines and process as other nonpartisan candidates once a local act creating a nonpartisan election exists for that office. The bill does not itself convert any specific circuit or county to nonpartisan elections; it only gives the General Assembly the legal authority to do so through future local legislation.
### What it does
- Adds the office of district attorney to the list of offices that may be elected nonpartisanly once a local act is enacted for that judicial circuit.
- Adds the office of solicitor-general of a state court to the offices eligible for nonpartisan election under a local act.
- Updates candidate qualifying rules (O.C.G.A. § 21-2-132) to set filing procedures for district attorney and solicitor-general candidates in nonpartisan elections.
- Revises O.C.G.A. § 21-2-139 to authorize the General Assembly to pass local acts creating nonpartisan elections for these two offices, alongside existing offices like county judges and school boards.
- Repeals any conflicting state laws.
### Who it affects
District attorneys and solicitors-general of state courts, candidates seeking those offices, the Georgia Secretary of State's office and county election superintendents who administer qualifying, and voters in judicial circuits or counties where the General Assembly later passes a local act adopting nonpartisan elections for these offices.
### Why it matters
If the General Assembly later passes local acts using this new authority, voters in affected circuits or counties could see district attorney and solicitor-general races appear on nonpartisan ballots instead of partisan ones, changing how candidates qualify and how party affiliation factors into these races.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 21-2-132(c)(1)-(2) to add district attorney candidates (where a local act creates a nonpartisan election) and solicitor-general of state court candidates to the nonpartisan candidate filing procedures.
- Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 21-2-139(a) to explicitly authorize the General Assembly to pass local acts establishing nonpartisan elections for district attorney and solicitor-general of the state court, alongside existing eligible offices.
- Section 2 also updates language so nonpartisan election procedures apply based on the judicial circuit, county, or political subdivision that elects the office.
- Section 3 repeals any state laws that conflict with the bill's changes.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-01-15)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-01-16)
- Sponsors: Ed Setzler, Clint Dixon, John Albers, Shawn Still, Kay Kirkpatrick
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69381
> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb14.md?full=1