Metro Atlanta distict attorneys are calling fowl on the new Georgia law, condemning the latest elections-related actions by Governor Brian Kemp as politically motivated and aimed at silencing Black and Brown voters. Referring to the passing of House Bill 369 to redraw political maps to target Democratic elected leaders in metro Atlanta counties and given the go ahead for racial gerrymandering in our state.”
The new law makes local elections nonpartisan in just five of Georgia’s 159 counties: Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett. These counties are led largely by Democratic, African American leaders, including county chairs, district attorneys, tax commissioners, and other senior elected officials. Combined, they largely determine the outcome of statewide races.
DeKalb County DA Sherry Boston, along with three other metro Atlanta district attorneys, announced the lawsuit in a news conference held outside the state capitol.
The law suit will contest HB 369 which makes races for constitutional offices including DA, tax commissioner, and solicitor general nonpartisan. Voters would no longer see a “D” or an “R” next to candidates names to denote party affiliation.
“If fairness and election integrity are truly the goals, then why does this bill apply to only five counties out of 159 in the State of Georgia?” DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said in an earlier press conference.
“This statute is clearly unconstitutional, and we believe it will be struck down,” said Boston, speaking just feet away from the state capitol. “My goal is, is that if we’re going to pass laws, we make it for 159 (counties), not just these five.”
Political leaders argued that removing party affiliation from the ballot does not improve elections. It puts voters at a disadvantage. Party affiliation, they emphasized, is critical information that helps voters understand a candidate’s deeply held beliefs, values, and ideology.
“If holding non-partisan elections for county officials, as set forth in HB 369, was good policy, it would apply to all 159 counties in Georgia,” Fulton County Commissioner Barrett emphasized in a statement. “Instead, it applies to five, all of them heavily Democratic, all of them in metro Atlanta, and all of them with a significant number of Black women in leadership. That tells you everything you need to know about this law.”
“Stripping party labels from Democratic counties, gerrymandering maps, leaving election infrastructure in chaos—these are not separate decisions,” Barrett said. “They are part of a larger, concerted effort to sabotage elections and silence voters in swing states across the country.”
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff called the new law “a blatant scheme to undermine Black representation in Congress and the state legislature by exploiting the Supreme Court’s gutting of the Voting Rights Act.”
“Let me be clear, our answer will be overwhelming. MAGA Republicans are awakening a giant. Their disgraceful campaign against the Voting Rights Act will mobilize unprecedented voter turnout, heightening the wave already building against the Trump Administration’s disastrous economic failures,” Ossoff said.
