SB510: SB510 Board of Education of Cobb County; future elections for members of the board of education shall be nonpartisan; provide

Members of the Cobb County Board of Education are currently elected in partisan elections, where candidates run under a political party. This bill would change that by amending the 1974 local Act that governs how the board is elected. The bill adds a new subsection stating that all board members elected after January 1, 2028 will be chosen through nonpartisan elections, following the rules in Georgia's election law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 2 of Title 21, the Georgia Election Code) and specifically the nonpartisan election procedure in O.C.G.A. § 21-2-139. The change would not affect current board members or anyone elected before January 1, 2028; those members would finish their existing terms and could still run for re-election under the prior rules. The bill also repeals any conflicting laws.

• Adds a new subsection to the 1974 Cobb County Board of Education election Act requiring nonpartisan elections for board members elected after January 1, 2028.
• Directs that these future elections follow Georgia's Election Code (O.C.G.A. Title 21, Chapter 2) and the nonpartisan election process in O.C.G.A. § 21-2-139.
• Protects current board members and any members elected before January 1, 2028 from having their terms changed by this bill.
• Allows members elected before the cutoff date to run for re-election under the terms already set out in the existing Act.
• Repeals any other state laws that conflict with this change.

Current and future members of the Cobb County Board of Education, candidates who want to run for the board, and Cobb County voters who choose board members in elections after January 1, 2028.

Voters in Cobb County would eventually choose school board members without party labels on the ballot, changing how candidates campaign and how voters identify them. Current board members keep their existing terms and election rules, so the change would not take effect until 2028.

• Section 1 amends Section 2 of the 1974 Cobb County Board of Education Act by adding subsection (c.1).
• Subsection (c.1) requires all board elections held after January 1, 2028 to follow the Georgia Election Code (O.C.G.A. Title 21, Chapter 2) and be nonpartisan under O.C.G.A. § 21-2-139.
• Subsection (c.1) explicitly preserves the terms of board members in office when the bill takes effect and those elected before January 1, 2028.
• Members elected before January 1, 2028 remain eligible to run for re-election as already allowed under the existing Act.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-03-04Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
2. 2026-03-03Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
3. 2026-02-24Senate Withdrawn & Recommitted (Senate)
4. 2026-02-17Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
5. 2026-02-12Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Ed Setzler (R, SD-037)Primary sponsor
• John Albers (R, SD-056)
• Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)

1. PassedSenate voteFebruary 24, 2026

   30 yea, 19 nay (4 not voting, 2 absent)

   Motion To Withdraw And Commit: Senate Vote #569

• Cobb County schools
• school board elections
• nonpartisan elections
• election law
• local legislation