SB573: SB573 Primaries and Elections; the nonpartisan election for county officers and district attorneys in certain counties; provide

Georgia currently elects most county officers and district attorneys through partisan primaries and general elections. This bill would change that for counties that appoint a medical examiner rather than elect a coroner (called 'medical examiner counties' in the bill). In those counties, county officers other than the sheriff, local school board members, and offices tied to a local constitutional amendment would instead be chosen in nonpartisan elections. The bill also applies this nonpartisan rule to district attorneys whose entire judicial circuit is a single medical examiner county, and those candidates would qualify with the Secretary of State the same way judges do. These nonpartisan elections would be held with the general primary in even-numbered years, without a separate nonpartisan primary. Any existing local law setting up partisan elections for these offices would be repealed and replaced by the new nonpartisan procedures. The changes would take effect January 1, 2027.

• Creates a new Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 21-2-140) requiring nonpartisan elections for most county officer positions in counties that appoint a medical examiner instead of electing a coroner.
• Exempts the office of sheriff, local school board offices, and offices under local constitutional amendments from the new nonpartisan election requirement.
• Requires district attorneys in judicial circuits made up solely of a medical examiner county to run in nonpartisan elections and qualify through the Secretary of State like judges do.
• Repeals any existing local laws that set up partisan elections for county offices covered by the new rule, replacing them with nonpartisan procedures.
• Updates Georgia's general election timing law (O.C.G.A. § 21-2-9) to account for the new nonpartisan election category for these officers and district attorneys.
• Sets the effective date of the changes as January 1, 2027.

County officers and district attorneys, and candidates for those offices, in Georgia counties that use an appointed medical examiner rather than an elected coroner. County sheriffs, local school boards, and offices created by local constitutional amendments are excluded from the change.

Candidates for affected county offices and district attorney seats would no longer run with a party label in medical examiner counties, changing how voters choose these officials and how candidates qualify and campaign, starting with elections held after January 1, 2027.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 21-2-9 to clarify that county officers and district attorneys elected under the new nonpartisan rule are grouped with other nonpartisan offices for election timing purposes.
• Section 2 updates qualifying rules in O.C.G.A. § 21-2-132 for candidates seeking nonpartisan ballot placement, including county judicial offices and consolidated government offices.
• Section 3 adds new Code Section 21-2-140, defining a 'medical examiner county' as one where the county government appoints a medical examiner instead of electing a coroner.
• Section 3 requires nonpartisan elections for county offices in medical examiner counties, except for sheriff, school board offices, and offices under local constitutional amendments.
• Section 3 extends the nonpartisan election requirement to district attorneys whose entire circuit is one medical examiner county, with qualifying handled like judicial candidates.
• Section 3 specifies these nonpartisan elections happen alongside the general primary in even-numbered years without a separate nonpartisan primary, and repeals conflicting local laws.
• Section 4 sets the effective date as January 1, 2027.
• Section 5 repeals all laws in conflict with the Act.

1. 2026-03-06Senate Notice to Reconsider (Senate)
2. 2026-03-06Senate Lost (Senate)
3. 2026-03-06Senate Third Read (Senate)
4. 2026-03-06Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
5. 2026-03-06Senate Tabled (Senate)
6. 2026-03-06Senate Engrossed (Senate)
7. 2026-03-04Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
8. 2026-03-03Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)

• Ed Setzler (R, SD-037)Primary sponsor
• Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)
• John Albers (R, SD-056)
• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
• Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)

1. PassedSenate voteMarch 6, 2026

   32 yea, 22 nay (1 not voting, 0 absent)

   Motion To Engross: Sb 423, Sb 515, Sb 566, Sb 568, Sb 573, Sr 838: Senate Vote #640

2. FailedSenate voteMarch 6, 2026

   24 yea, 29 nay (1 not voting, 1 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #655

• election rules
• county government
• district attorneys
• coroners and medical examiners
• nonpartisan elections