Five Black women district attorneys in Atlanta, Georgia, will be forced to run in nonpartisan elections under a new Georgia law that two of the prosecutors are now challenging in court.
House Bill 369, signed by Gov. Brian Kemp in May, according to The Atlanta-Journal Constitution (AJC), requires district attorneys in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties to run in nonpartisan elections beginning in 2028, according to the Georgia Legislature.
The law applies to counties that have abolished the elected coroner position in favor of a medical examiner. Only five of Georgia’s 159 counties currently meet that definition: Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb and Clayton.
All five counties currently have Black Democratic women serving as district attorneys: Fani Willis in Fulton, Sherry Boston in DeKalb, Patsy Austin-Gatson in Gwinnett, Sonya Allen in Cobb and Tasha Mosley in Clayton, The AJC reports.
Boston filed the first lawsuit challenging the law in June. Austin-Gatson filed a second lawsuit August 21 in Fulton County Superior Court against the state, according to WSB-TV.
Austin-Gatson’s lawsuit, obtained by Atlanta Black Star, says the law will prevent candidates from receiving party nominations or running in partisan primaries, limiting how voters can identify their political affiliations.
“It attempts to lessen the choice of the people,” she said at an August 28 news conference, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
Austin-Gatson also called HB 369 “strange and prejudicial legislation” and said she believes it is “unjust and racially discriminatory,” according to WSB-TV.
Boston’s lawsuit argues that HB 369 violates Georgia’s constitutional uniformity and equal protection requirements because it singles out five counties and treats their voters differently from voters elsewhere in the state, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
Republican lawmakers dispute that characterization.
State Senator John Albers (R-Roswell) said the law is intended to reduce partisan politics in local law enforcement races and allow officials to focus on “serving the people and keeping our communities safe,” according to WSB-TV.
Unless blocked by the courts, HB 369 is scheduled to take effect January 1, 2028, when the five district attorneys are up for election.
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