---
title: SB 573. Primaries and Elections; the nonpartisan election for county officers and district attorneys in certain counties; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb573
cite_as: SB 573, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb573
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb573.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb573/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73571
date: 2026-03-06
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: 791
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb573.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 573
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-24
last_action: Senate Notice to Reconsider
sponsors:
- Ed Setzler
- Kay Kirkpatrick
- John Albers
- Shawn Still
- Clint Dixon
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB573/2025
upstream_id: 2123546
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- election rules
- nonpartisan elections
- county government
- district attorneys
- coroners and medical examiners
---
# SB 573. Primaries and Elections; the nonpartisan election for county officers and district attorneys in certain counties; provide
## Text
Senate Bill 573
By: Senators Setzler of the 37th, Kirkpatrick of the 32nd, Albers of the 56th, Still of the 48th
and Dixon of the 45th
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 provide for the nonpartisan election for county
officers and district attorneys in certain counties; to provide for the qualifying for such
offices; to provide a definition; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective
date; 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 elections and
primaries generally, is amended in Code Section 21-2-9, relating to date of election for
office, by revising subsections (a) and (b) as follows:
"(a) The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State
School Superintendent, Commissioner of Insurance, Commissioner of Agriculture,
Commissioner of Labor, members of Congress, district attorneys not elected pursuant to
Code Section 21-2-140, members of the General Assembly, and county officers not elected
pursuant to Code Section 21-2-139 or 21-2-140 shall be elected in the November election
next preceding the expiration of the term of office.
(b) Justices of the Supreme Court, Judges of the Court of Appeals, judges of the superior
courts, district attorneys elected pursuant to Code Section 21-2-140, and county judicial
officers, offices of local school boards, and nonpartisan offices elected pursuant to Code
Section 21-2-139 or 21-2-140 shall be elected in the nonpartisan general election next
preceding the expiration of the term of office."
SECTION 2.
Said chapter is further amended by revising paragraph (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:
"(2) Each candidate for 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 3.
Said chapter is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"21-2-140.
(a) As used in this Code section, 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.
(b) Except as provided for in subsection (c) of this Code section, all candidates to fill
elected county offices in a medical examiner county shall be elected in nonpartisan
elections.
(c) The provisions of this Code section shall not apply to:
(1) The office of county sheriff;
(2) Offices of local boards of education; or
(3) Offices of county governing authorities established pursuant to or authorized by a
local constitutional amendment.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the contrary, 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. All candidates to fill the office
of district attorney for a judicial circuit comprised solely of a medical examiner county
shall qualify with the Secretary of State in the same manner as provided for candidates to
qualify for the office of judge in Code Section 21-2-138.
(e) Such county officers and district attorneys 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. Except as otherwise
provided in this Code section, the procedures employed in such 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 partisan election of candidates
to fill elected county offices shall be repealed and elections for such county offices shall
be conducted as nonpartisan elections accordance with the applicable provisions of this
chapter, notwithstanding the provisions of any existing local law."
SECTION 4.
This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2027.
SECTION 5.
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 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.
### Plain-language summary
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 it 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.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-02-24)
- Last action: Senate Notice to Reconsider (2026-03-06)
- Sponsors: Ed Setzler, Kay Kirkpatrick, John Albers, Shawn Still, Clint Dixon
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73571
> The history, votes, and amendments (791 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb573.md?full=1