The names of all candidates who have qualified with the Secretary of State for the office of judge of a superior court, Judge of the Court of Appeals, or Justice of the Supreme Court of this state and the names of all candidates who have qualified with the election superintendent for the office of judge of a state court shall be placed on the ballot in a nonpartisan election to be held and conducted jointly with the general primary in each even-numbered year. No candidates for any such office shall be nominated by a political party or by a petition as a candidate of a political body or as an independent candidate. Candidates for any such office shall have their names placed on the nonpartisan portion of each ballot by complying with the requirements prescribed in Code Section 21-2-132 specifically related to such nonpartisan candidates and by paying the requisite qualifying fees as prescribed in Code Section 21-2-131. Candidates shall be listed on the official ballot in a nonpartisan election as provided in Code Sections 21-2-284.1 and 21-2-285.1, respectively. Except as otherwise specified in this chapter, the procedures to be employed in conducting the nonpartisan election of judges of state courts, judges of superior courts, Judges of the Court of Appeals, and Justices of the Supreme Court shall conform as nearly as practicable to the procedures governing general elections; and such general election procedures as are necessary to complete this nonpartisan election process shall be adopted in a manner consistent with such nonpartisan elections.
History. Code 1933, § 34-1016, enacted by Ga. L. 1975, p. 1251, § 1; Ga. L. 1983, p. 1190, § 6; Ga. L. 1984, p. 133, § 1; Ga. L. 1984, p. 1490, § 7; Ga. L. 1998, p. 295, § 1; Ga. L. 2001, p. 269, § 9; Ga. L. 2005, p. 253, § 17/HB 244; Ga. L. 2011, p. 678, § 3/HB 158.
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 1983, p. 1190, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provided that it was the intent of that Act to implement the provisions of Ga. Const. 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VII, Para. I.
Law reviews.
For note on the 2001 amendment of this Code section, see 18 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 96 (2001).
For comment, “Awakening a Slumbering Giant: Georgia’s Judicial Selection System After White and Weaver ,” see 56 Mercer L. Rev. 1035 (2005).
For note, “The Case of the Vanishing Supreme Court Contest: Barrow v. Raffensperger Eliminates the Power of the People to Elect their Appellate, Superior, and State Court Judges,” see 72 Mercer L. Rev. 957 (2021).