Georgia CommonsSB 573: Primaries and Elections; the nonpartisan election for county officers and district attorneys in certain counties; provide
Last action March 6, 2026 · Senate Notice to Reconsider
A Georgia Senate bill would require nonpartisan elections for most county offices and certain district attorneys in counties that appoint, rather than elect, a medical examiner instead of a coroner, starting January 1, 2027.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Right now most county officers and district attorneys in Georgia run in partisan elections, meaning they run as Democrats, Republicans, or other party nominees. This bill creates a new category called a 'medical examiner county,' defined as any county whose governing authority appoints a medical examiner instead of electing a coroner. In those counties, the bill would switch elections for county offices to nonpartisan elections, meaning candidates would not run under a party label. The sheriff's office, local school board seats, and county governing authorities set up under a local constitutional amendment are excluded from the switch. District attorneys serving a judicial circuit made up entirely of one medical examiner county would also become nonpartisan, and would qualify through the Secretary of State the same way judicial candidates do. Any existing local law setting up partisan elections for these offices would be repealed and replaced by the new nonpartisan process. The changes take effect January 1, 2027.
What the bill does
- Creates a new legal category, 'medical examiner county,' defined as a county that appoints rather than elects a medical examiner in place of a coroner.
- Requires nonpartisan elections for county offices in medical examiner counties, except for sheriff, local school board seats, and governing authorities set up by local constitutional amendment.
- Extends nonpartisan elections to district attorneys who serve a judicial circuit made up entirely of a single medical examiner county, and requires them to qualify through the Secretary of State like judges do.
- Repeals any existing local law that set up partisan elections for county offices in a medical examiner county, replacing it with the new nonpartisan process.
- Sets these nonpartisan elections to be held alongside the general primary in even-numbered years, without a separate nonpartisan primary beforehand.
- Sets the effective date of the changes as January 1, 2027.
Who it affects
County officials and candidates in counties that appoint rather than elect a medical examiner, district attorneys serving judicial circuits limited to one such county, county election superintendents who run qualifying and ballots, and voters in those counties who currently vote in partisan primaries for these offices.
Why it matters
Voters in affected counties would no longer see party labels next to candidates' names for most county offices and, in some circuits, for district attorney. This changes how candidates qualify and campaign, and it overrides any existing local law that set up partisan elections for those offices.
Key provisions
- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 21-2-9 to add district attorneys and county officers elected under the new nonpartisan process to the list of offices decided in nonpartisan general elections rather than the November partisan election.
- Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 21-2-132 to adjust the candidacy filing rules for nonpartisan county and local school board offices.
- Section 3 adds new Code Section 21-2-140, defining 'medical examiner county' and requiring nonpartisan elections for county offices there, except sheriff, local school board seats, and governing authorities under local constitutional amendments.
- Section 3 also requires nonpartisan elections for district attorneys whose judicial circuit consists solely of one medical examiner county, with qualifying through the Secretary of State as judicial candidates do.
- Section 3 states these elections happen with the general primary in even-numbered years, without a separate nonpartisan primary, and repeals conflicting local laws that set up partisan elections for the affected offices.
- Section 4 sets the effective date as January 1, 2027.
From the bill
“the term 'medical examiner county' means any county in which the governing authority of the county appoints a medical examiner in lieu of an elected coroner, regardless of whether such appointment is made pursuant to a local constitutional amendment or by general law.”
“all candidates to fill elected county offices in a medical examiner county shall be elected in nonpartisan elections.”
“all candidates to fill the office of district attorney for a judicial circuit comprised solely of a medical examiner county shall be elected in nonpartisan elections.”
Status timeline
- Senate Notice to Reconsider (Senate)
- Senate Lost (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
- Senate Tabled (Senate)
- Senate Engrossed (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
Show full history (10 actions)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Ed Setzler (R, SD-037)
- Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)
- John Albers (R, SD-056)
- Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
- Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)
Votes
- Senate voteMarch 6, 2026
32 yea, 22 nay (1 not voting, 0 absent)
- Senate voteMarch 6, 2026
24 yea, 29 nay (1 not voting, 1 absent)
Topics
- election rules
- nonpartisan elections
- county government
- district attorneys
- coroners and medical examiners