Counties in Georgia
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Top 100 cities by population |
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of elections in the 100 largest cities in America by population and the largest counties that overlap those cities. This encompasses all city, county, judicial, school district, and special district offices appearing on the ballot within those cities.
This page includes the following resources:
- The county governments covered by Ballotpedia in Georgia
- A list and map of counties in Georgia
- An overview of local elections in Georgia
- An overview of the initiative process in Georgia
Counties
County government
Click the links below for information about the county governments in Ballotpedia's coverage scope:
Full list of counties
According to a 2022 study from the U.S. Census Bureau, this state's local governments consist of 152 counties, 537 cities, towns, and villages, and 510 special districts.[1] Six county governments have been consolidated with city governments. Another county consolidated with an unincorporated community rather than a city.[2][3]
The following table defaults to displaying only 25 counties at a time. To change the number of counties displayed, use the drop-down menu above the upper left-hand corner of the table. You can also use the search bar above the upper-right corner of the table to look up a specific county.
Map of counties
Counties in blue on the map below are part of Ballotpedia's county coverage scope:
Elections
Click the links below for information about the elections held in each municipality. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list of municipalities that held elections each year in this state; click here to learn more about Ballotpedia's local government coverage scope.
2024
2023
2022
Ballotpedia expanded its coverage of local elections in Georgia in 2022. Click here to find your county, or click the links below for additional information about the following municipalities:
2021
2020
Past elections
Initiative process availability
In Georgia, local governments comprise counties, cities, and city-county consolidations. Counties are organized according to the state constitution, general law, and applicable local laws (laws passed by the general assembly concerning a specific county). Cities and city-county consolidations are governed by local charters approved by the General Assembly then ratified by a vote of the people.
Counties
Residents of all counties may initiate amendments to (or veto referendums against) local ordinances, resolutions, and regulations. They may also amend or repeal the local laws governing the county at the state level.[4]
Cities
Residents of all non-consolidated cities may initiate amendments to (or veto referendums against) local ordinances, resolutions, and regulations. They may also amend their local charter.[4]
City-county consolidations
In Georgia, cities and counties may consolidate their governments to streamline services or eliminate redundancies. Seven pairs of cities and counties have formed consolidated city-county governments. All seven pairs are organized under local charters approved by the General Assembly and ratified by residents. The Georgia Code explicitly exempts consolidated governments formed prior to January 1, 1976, from the initiative process established for cities. The City of Columbus and Muscogee County were consolidated in 1971--the first Georgia consolidation and the only consolidation prior to 1976. The charter of Columbus/Muscogee County does provide for charter amendment and ordinance initiatives, but establishes an initiative process distinct from the city process found in the Georgia Code.[5][6]
The applicability of state's county and city initiative and referendum provisions to consolidated governments in general is unclear. By all appearances, the issue has not yet faced judicial review. Augusta-Richmond County and Columbus-Muscogee County provide for local initiative for ordinances and charter or local act amendment. Athens-Clarke County, Cusseta-Chattahoochee County, and Georgetown-Quitman County seem to exclude it. The status of initiative in unclear in both Statenville-Echols County and Preston-Webster County.[7][8][9][10][11]
See also
| Georgia | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "2022 Census of Governments – Organization," accessed October 16, 2023
- ↑ New Georgia Encyclopedia, "Georgia's County Governments," December 9, 2021
- ↑ National League of Cities "Cities 101 — Consolidations," December 9, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ballotpedia, "Types & #s of local government by state," September 2012
- ↑ Carl Vinson Institute of Government, "What you need to know about city-county consolidation," accessed October 13, 2012 (Archived)
- ↑ National Association of Counties, "City-County Consolidation Proposals 1921 - Present," January 1, 2011 (Archived)
- ↑ Municode, "Columbus Charter and Ordinances," accessed October 13, 2012
- ↑ Augusta-Richmond County, "Charter and Code," accessed October 13, 2012
- ↑ Municode, "Athens-Clarke County Charter and Ordinances," accessed October 13, 2012
- ↑ Municode, "Cusseta-Chattahoochee County Charter and Ordinances," accessed October 13, 2012
- ↑ Georgetown-Quitman County, "Georgetown-Quitman County Certified Charter," accessed October 13, 2012 (Archived)
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