On Tuesday, September 22, 2026, a Fulton County judge received two lawsuits from district attorneys challenging a recently enacted Georgia law that would make elections for district attorney and other county offices nonpartisan in five counties surrounding Atlanta.
The plaintiffs, identified as two district attorneys, contend that the statute infringes on their constitutional rights by eliminating party affiliation from the ballot. They seek a court order to block the law’s implementation and to preserve the ability of voters to see party labels in county races.
Representing the state, attorneys for the Georgia government have filed a motion asking the same Fulton County judge to dismiss the lawsuits. Their filing argues that the law falls within the legislature’s authority to structure local elections and that the challenges lack legal merit.
The contested legislation, passed by the Georgia General Assembly earlier this year, applies to district‑attorney elections and a set of other county positions in five metro Atlanta counties. By removing party designations from the ballot, the measure aims to create nonpartisan contests for those offices.
The legal dispute marks the first major court test of the new nonpartisan election rule. If the district attorneys succeed, the law could be halted pending further review, leaving the current partisan ballot format in place for the upcoming election cycle. Conversely, a dismissal of the suits would allow the nonpartisan system to proceed as scheduled.
The case remains pending, and the Fulton County judge has not yet issued a ruling on either the dismissal request or the merits of the district attorneys’ claims.