Cobb DA vows to sue over law making elections nonpartisan
Cobb County District Attorney Sonya Allen said Friday she intends to go to court over a new law making certain local races in metro Atlanta counties, including Cobb County, nonpartisan.
The bill, known as HB 369, makes local races for district attorneys, school board members, county commissioners, tax commissioners and other offices nonpartisan. The bill only applies to Fulton, Cobb, Gwinnett, DeKalb and Clayton counties.
Gov. Brian Kemp signed it into law on Tuesday.
The bill was primarily backed by Republicans, who argue it will soften the role of partisan politics in local elections and bolster public safety. The bill does not make county sheriff races nonpartisan.
Democrats say the bill is an attempt by Republicans to hide their party affiliations and make inroads in the increasingly Democratic metro Atlanta area.
Allen, a Democrat, told the Marietta Daily Journal in an email that the law unfairly targets certain counties.
"If this legislation was truly about fairness and removing politics from public safety, it would apply equally to all 159 counties in Georgia - not selectively target only five," Allen wrote. "Laws of this magnitude should never be crafted to affect only certain communities while excluding the rest of the state. The selective nature of this bill raises serious concerns."
She told the Journal she plans to fight the new law in court.
Allen isn't the only district attorney to do so. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston also promised to sue over the bill.
Other Cobb Democrats are decrying the bill as well.
Rep. Terry Cummings, D-Mableton, authored the original version of the bill, which initially pertained to motor vehicles and the sale of food and beverages.
However, after two bills sponsored by Sen. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth, containing similar language making some metro counties' races nonpartisan failed to crossover by the deadline, HB 369's original language was replaced with text mirroring the nonpartisan election bills.
Cummings voted against the bill in its current form and told the Marietta Daily Journal she believes the new law unfairly targets certain counties and deprives voters of important context at the polls.
"The original version of HB 369 was about safety for food trucks. Myself and three other democrats are still listed on the bill. Obviously, none of us supported the new version created by Cobb senators," Cummings said in an email. "HB 369 disproportionately targets diverse communities and makes it more difficult for voters to understand where candidates stand on foundational issues that directly affect their lives."
Cummings said she offered an amendment to the bill that would've applied it to all of Georgia's 159 counties, but Republican leadership in the state legislature rejected it.
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