Georgia ballot measure · November 3, 2026
Georgia Proposed Constitutional Amendment, explained
Nonpartisan elections for probate judges. A ballot measure is a yes-or-no question put directly to voters — no candidate is involved, and the wording on the ballot is the wording that becomes law. This page shows that wording first, then what it actually changes.
The official wording
Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to require that all probate court judges be elected in nonpartisan elections?
This is what appears on the ballot. Everything below explains it.
What it actually means
Georgia already elects its Supreme Court justices, Court of Appeals judges, superior court judges and state court judges without party labels. Probate judges — one per county, elected to four-year terms, handling wills, estates, guardianships and, in many counties, marriage and weapons licences — are the exception. This amendment would put them on the same nonpartisan footing. A companion law, House Bill 426, would also make magistrate judges nonpartisan, but only if this amendment passes; if it fails, that bill is repealed.
If you vote YES
- All probate court judges would be elected on a nonpartisan basis, without a party label on the ballot, joining the other Georgia courts already elected that way.
- House Bill 426 would take effect, requiring magistrate judges as well as probate judges to be elected in nonpartisan elections held during the general primary in even-numbered years.
- Probate judges would continue to serve the terms provided for county officers under Article IX, Section I, Paragraph III.
- Candidates would run in the nonpartisan election rather than in a party primary, so voters would not need to take a party ballot to help choose them.
If you vote NO
- Probate judges would continue to be elected in partisan elections, with party primaries and party labels on the general election ballot.
- House Bill 426 would be repealed in its entirety, so magistrate judges would also stay on the existing partisan basis.
- Georgia would keep the current split, where every other class of judge named in Article VI is elected nonpartisan and probate judges are not.
Why supporters say YES
We found none published in the sources reviewed.
Why opponents say NO
We found none published in the sources reviewed.
What’s genuinely uncertain
- No committee has registered to support or oppose the amendment and Ballotpedia has located no campaign or endorsements in opposition, so no arguments are presented on either side. Supporters include Sen. Brian Strickland (R-42), who said nonpartisan election "helps encourage, overall, more confidence in our judicial system," the amendment's sponsor Rep. Kimberly New (R-Villa Rica), Chief Justice Nels Peterson, and former governors Roy Barnes (D) and Nathan Deal (R).
- The amendment passed the House 147-20 and the Senate 32-5, with the opposing votes split across both parties and no published explanation of them that could be attributed by name.
- Whether removing party labels changes who wins probate elections, or how informed voters are in them, is contested in the general research literature and has not been addressed by either side in this campaign.
- The number the amendment will carry on the ballot had not been published when this was written.
The bottom line
Whether county probate judges should run without party labels like Georgia's other judges, or keep the partisan primaries and labels that currently tell voters something about them.
One neutral sentence describing the tradeoff — not a recommendation.
Checking it against the official text
The Georgia Secretary of State publishes the certified measures and, in most states, an official voter guide with fiscal notes. That is the authoritative version. Everything here is an explanation of it, not a substitute for it.
Confirm this with the official source
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at Georgia Secretary of State.
Other measures on the Georgia ballot
Candidates on the same ballot
- U.S. Senate election in Georgia
- Georgia governor's race
- Georgia's 1st congressional district
- Georgia's 2nd congressional district
- Georgia's 3rd congressional district
- Georgia's 4th congressional district
- Georgia's 5th congressional district
- Georgia's 6th congressional district