Kemp signs Georgia nonpartisan-election law as Atlanta weighs proposed $3B budget
Gov. Brian Kemp signed a Georgia law on May 12 requiring nonpartisan elections for most local officials in the five most populous counties in the metro Atlanta area, a change scheduled to begin affecting elections in 2028.
The law covers local prosecutorial and county-government positions. It does not establish that every Atlanta municipal race will be covered.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and another Democratic prosecutor said they would challenge the law’s constitutionality, according to the Associated Press. The available reporting establishes a threat of litigation, but not whether Willis had filed a lawsuit as of Aug. 3.
Election change is signed, not yet in effect
Kemp’s signature completed the legislative process for the election-law measure after the 2026 session. The next identified election milestone is implementation beginning in 2028, rather than an immediate change to current contests.
For Fulton County and other covered metro-area counties, the change would remove party labels from elections for most of the offices included in the law. The source material identifies local prosecutorial and county-government posts among the covered offices, but does not provide a complete office-by-office statutory list.
Any constitutional challenge would be a separate court process. No court ruling invalidating or upholding the law is established in the approved reporting.
Atlanta budget remains a proposal
At City Hall, Atlanta’s fiscal year 2026 proposed budget lays out $3 billion in operating expenditures. The proposal lists a $975.4 million General Fund, which the city says is a 14% increase from the FY2025 adopted General Fund budget of $853.8 million.
The city identifies public safety, youth, infrastructure, workforce and affordable housing as priorities in the proposed plan. Those spending priorities remain part of a proposal in the available materials; the packet does not establish a final adopted FY2026 budget or identify amendments.
The Atlanta City Council’s official 2026 committee schedule lists committee activity for Aug. 3 and provides the venue and committee framework for municipal legislative and budget business. The schedule alone does not document a budget vote or final council action.
Together, the state election change and the city budget process place two different government decisions on separate tracks: a signed state law with a future implementation date, and a municipal spending plan still identified by the city as proposed.
Sources
- Fani Willis vows to sue over new Georgia law that removes party labels in Atlanta-area elections, Associated Press
- Fiscal Year 2026 Proposed Budget, City of Atlanta
- 2026 City Council committee meeting schedule, Atlanta City Council
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