Georgia voters will consider a statewide ballot question this November that proposes to make all probate judge elections nonpartisan across the state. This measure would change how judicial officials, who oversee critical matters such as wills, estates, and conservatorships, are elected for residents in Lowndes County and all of Georgia.
A bipartisan coalition of more than 60 Georgia leaders is backing the initiative. Among its supporters are former Democratic Governor Roy Barnes and former Republican Governor Nathan Deal, alongside numerous mayors, county commissioners, and religious and civic leaders from various backgrounds. In an open letter, these proponents argued that the measure presents “an opportunity to strengthen confidence in our judiciary by emphasizing neutrality, fairness, and independence.” They further contended that judges should be accountable to the law and the Constitution, rather than to partisan political pressures. The proposed change garnered strong legislative support, passing unanimously in the state Senate and with a vote of 147-20 in the state House, with dissenters noted from both major political parties.
However, not all lawmakers agree with the proposed shift. Woodstock Republican state Representative Charlice Byrd, who voted against the measure, expressed concerns that removing party affiliations from judicial races could limit the information available to voters, potentially leading to less informed choices. Representative Byrd believes that individuals need to know where candidates stand on issues. She also suggested that if the 53 counties currently holding partisan probate judge elections wish to transition to nonpartisan races, they should do so through local legislation, mirroring the approach taken by the majority of Georgia counties.
Currently, the vast majority of Georgia’s approximately 1,600 judges, including state Supreme Court justices, are elected in nonpartisan contests. The only exceptions are 53 of the state’s 159 county probate judges, who still run on Republican or Democratic party tickets. Most Georgia counties have already made their probate judge elections nonpartisan through local legislative efforts. The association that advocates for county governments at the state Capitol has adopted a neutral position on the ballot question.
Probate judges themselves have commented on their role, stating that their responsibilities primarily involve impartially administering laws related to document disputes, rather than addressing prominent social issues like abortion or border security. They note that public association with a political party can lead to uncomfortable situations and might cause individuals from opposing political viewpoints to question the fairness of their rulings.
The push for nonpartisan judicial elections is not isolated to probate judges. A law implementing nonpartisan elections for magistrate judges, who handle issues such as warrants, small civil claims, and preliminary hearings, went into effect last July. Chief Justice Nels Peterson has also advocated for nonpartisan judicial races, including during a significant speech before a joint session of the General Assembly in February. Chief Justice Peterson underscored the importance of judges being both impartial and perceived as impartial, asserting that requiring judges to publicly and formally align with a political party can erode the public's perception of the judiciary as neutral.
Questions of political neutrality have also emerged in recent nonpartisan elections for the state’s highest court. In 2024, the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) sent a letter to attorney John Barrow, criticizing him for pledging to protect abortion rights during his unsuccessful campaign for the Supreme Court, arguing that his statements violated rules of impartiality. Earlier this year, the same panel determined that two Democratic Party-aligned candidates for the Supreme Court, former state Senator Jen Jordan and attorney Miracle Rankin, had violated Georgia’s Code of Judicial Conduct for endorsing each other and indicating they would restore abortion rights in the state. Currently, all but one of the state's nine Supreme Court justices were appointed by Republican governors. Separately, a measure signed into law earlier this year, which aims to make district attorneys nonpartisan in five specific Democratic-leaning metro Atlanta counties, is facing a challenge in court. Some observers also note that downballot candidates, such as judges, may benefit from being affiliated with a dominant party in their county, especially when voters have limited other information about them.
