ATLANTA — DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston filed a lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court challenging the constitutionality of a Georgia law that mandates nonpartisan elections for certain local officials in five Atlanta-area counties but not the rest of the state. The lawsuit names the state of Georgia as the defendant and lists Boston as the sole plaintiff.

The law, which takes effect in 2028, applies to Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton, Cobb, and Gwinnett counties and requires nonpartisan elections for district attorneys, solicitors general, county commissioners, court clerks, and tax commissioners. Under the measure, elections for all affected offices except district attorneys will move from November to May, aligning with judicial elections, with runoffs held in June if no candidate secures a majority. Sheriffs in those counties will continue to run under party labels.

Boston asserted that the law violates Georgia's uniformity clause, which requires laws to operate uniformly across the state. She also claimed it breaches the equal protection clauses of both the Georgia and U.S. Constitutions because lawmakers provided no valid justification for treating the five metro counties differently from the state’s other 154 counties. She called the law a "calculated move by the Republican-controlled General Assembly to hide candidates' party affiliations from voters in an attempt to win power in counties where most of the elected positions are held by members of the Democratic Party." Boston also stated that the law’s supporters violated Georgia’s rejected bills clause by passing the measure after it had failed as standalone legislation earlier in the session and was later rewritten onto another bill after Crossover Day.

"Republicans here at the state Capitol want to make it harder for voters in our counties to choose the people who best represent us and our values. But today we are here at the state Capitol to tell those lawmakers that we will not shy away from speaking up for the people of Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Fulton counties," Boston said.

State Senator John Albers, a Republican from Roswell who pushed the legislation, had argued during the session that the change would promote public safety. Kara Murray, a spokesperson for Attorney General Chris Carr, said in an emailed statement, "We will defend the law as enacted and signed by the Governor." The state has 30 days to file a response to the lawsuit, according to Boston.