The short version.
Georgia compresses candidate filing into a single week in early March, called qualifying week. If you are running with a party for a county office, you qualify with your county party during that week, at a place and time the party announces. Miss the week and there is no second chance for that cycle.
The fee is not a flat amount. Georgia sets it at 3% of the annual salary of the office you are seeking, so it varies from a modest sum for a small county post to several thousand dollars for a well-paid one. If you genuinely cannot afford it, Georgia has a route around it that most states do not.
This page covers that for Coweta County and points you at your local election office for anything specific to your county. It is not legal advice; the official rules live with your election office and the Georgia Secretary of State.
Coweta County by the numbers.
- In 2024, Coweta County cast 85,916 votes for president: 66.6% Republican, 32.7% Democratic.
The campaigns that win the field are the ones who start building their list of supporters and volunteers before qualifying even opens, not after. Motion51 is ready to load your Coweta County voter file the moment you send it over, so you can start finding your people now.
Key Georgia dates.
Still open for the November 3, 2026 ballot
Qualifying week was March 2 to 6 and the independent petition closed at noon on July 14. The write-in route is still open, and Georgia's version has two steps rather than one.
- Tue Sep 8, 2026 WRITE-IN: last day to BOTH file your Notice of Intention of Write-in Candidacy with the county election superintendent AND have it published in the county's official legal organ (O.C.G.A. sec. 21-2-133(a)). There is no qualifying fee for a write-in.
- Mon Sep 14, 2026 Last day to file the published notice plus a notarized affidavit of publication. Miss this second step and the write-in candidacy is void even if you filed on time (sec. 21-2-133(b)).
- Mon Mar 2 to Fri Mar 6, 2026 Qualifying week for every 2026 candidate -- CLOSED.
- Tue Jul 14, 2026, 12:00 noon Independent and political-body nomination petitions -- CLOSED (secs. 21-2-170, 21-2-132(e)).
If a nominee for a county office dies, withdraws or is disqualified in a way that would leave the November ballot empty for that seat, sec. 21-2-134(d) forces a special primary with brand-new qualifying. That is happening right now for one judicial-circuit office. It is rare, you cannot trigger it, and if you lost this year's primary sec. 21-2-133(d) bars you from the write-in line for that same office anyway.
2027 is the city year; 2028 is the county year
Georgia cities elect in odd years only, and county offices in even years. The two run on completely different clocks, and the municipal one is not even a fixed statewide date.
- Mon Aug 16 to Fri Aug 20, 2027 COMPUTED outer window for MUNICIPAL qualifying. State law only sets the window -- three to five consecutive days starting no earlier than 8:30 a.m. on the third Monday in August (sec. 21-2-132(d)(4)). Your city's superintendent picks the actual days and must publish them at least two weeks ahead, so ask your city clerk.
- about Fri Aug 27, 2027 COMPUTED municipal write-in deadline: seven days after YOUR city's qualifying closes (sec. 21-2-133(a)). Because it is keyed to the local window, it differs from one city to the next.
- Tue Nov 2, 2027 COMPUTED general municipal election (sec. 21-2-9(c)); any runoff 28 days later on Nov 30.
- Mon Mar 6, 9:00 a.m. to Fri Mar 10, 2028, 12:00 noon COMPUTED QUALIFYING WEEK for county office. For a partisan county race you qualify with your COUNTY PARTY and pay the fee to the party, not to the county (secs. 21-2-153(c)(1)(A), 21-2-131(b)(1)). Independents qualify with the county superintendent in the same week.
- Tue May 23, 2028 COMPUTED general primary, the Tuesday of the 24th week before the November election (sec. 21-2-150); runoff 28 days later on June 20.
- Mon Jun 26, 9:00 a.m. to Tue Jul 11, 2028, 12:00 noon COMPUTED independent and political-body nomination petition window (sec. 21-2-132(e)). The signature bar is 5 per cent of the voters eligible for that office at the last general election (sec. 21-2-170(b)).
- Tue Sep 5 and Mon Sep 11, 2028 COMPUTED write-in notice and affidavit deadlines for the 2028 county ballot (sec. 21-2-133(a), (b)).
- Tue Nov 7, 2028 COMPUTED general election for county officers (sec. 21-2-9(a)); runoff 28 days later.
The qualifying fee is 3 per cent of the office's gross salary and is set and published by the county governing authority by February 1 -- look it up in January, not at the counter, because for a full-time county office it runs into the hundreds or low thousands of dollars and is non-refundable once qualifying closes. One more thing to check locally: Georgia's four constitutional county officers and the coroner run in presidential years, but commission and school board seats are staggered by local Act, so which seat is up in which year is county-specific. Read your county's own qualifying notice rather than any statewide rule.
The 2026 dates come from the Georgia Secretary of State's published 2026 Elections Calendar and candidate qualifying pages, read on 2026-08-20. Georgia publishes no 2027 or 2028 calendar yet, so those dates are arithmetic from O.C.G.A. Title 21 and are labelled COMPUTED. Confirm anything you rely on with your county election superintendent.
Offices on the ballot in Coweta County.
Georgia county offices are on four-year terms and most are elected alongside the governor, so the seats below were on the 2026 ballot and are next up in 2030. County commission and school board seats are often staggered, so some of those are up in the intervening even year instead.
- Sheriff (four-year term)
- Clerk of Superior Court
- Tax Commissioner
- Probate Judge
- Coroner
- County Commission — often staggered, so only some seats appear on any given ballot
- Board of Education — nonpartisan in most Georgia counties, which changes where you qualify
- Statewide and legislative seats on the same ballot: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, U.S. Senate, all 14 U.S. House seats, the entire Georgia House (180 seats) and Senate (56 seats)
Which commission and school board seats are up, and whether a given office is partisan in your county, varies. Your county election office holds the official list.
How to get on the ballot.
Georgia gives you three routes onto the ballot, and which one applies depends on whether you are running with a party, without one, or cannot afford the fee.
Where you qualify, and with whom.
This is the part people get wrong. Party candidates for a county office qualify with the county political party — not with the election office — during qualifying week. Candidates for nonpartisan offices, which in most counties includes the board of education, qualify with the county election superintendent instead.
- Running with a party for a county office: qualify with that party's county committee during qualifying week.
- Running for a nonpartisan county office: qualify with the county election superintendent.
- Running as an independent or for a political body: a separate, later window in late June, filed with the Secretary of State, plus a petition.
Each county party sets its own qualifying hours and location, and they are only open for that one week. Find out well in advance where yours will be.
Option 1: Pay the qualifying fee.
Georgia sets the qualifying fee at 3% of the annual salary of the office you are seeking, so it scales with the job rather than being a flat figure. That means the fee for the same office differs from county to county, because county salaries differ.
- Sheriff, clerk of superior court, tax commissioner, probate judge, county commissioner: 3% of that office's annual salary in your county.
- For comparison, the fixed statewide figures give a sense of scale: Georgia House or Senate is $400, a U.S. House seat is $5,220.
- The fee is paid to the party you are qualifying with, and it is not refundable.
Ask your county party or election office for the exact figure for your seat. Salary schedules change, and a percentage of a number you guessed at is not a number to write a cheque against.
Option 2: The pauper's affidavit and qualifying petition.
Georgia is unusual in offering a route for candidates who cannot afford the fee at all. You file a sworn affidavit setting out your income, assets and liabilities, showing you have neither the income nor the assets to pay, and you back it with a petition.
- For a county or other non-statewide office: signatures from 1% of the registered voters eligible to vote for that office.
- For statewide office: one-quarter of 1% of registered voters.
- The affidavit is a financial disclosure made under oath, not a formality.
This is a genuine route, not a technicality, and it exists precisely so that the fee does not decide who can run.
Running without a party.
Independent and political body candidates skip the primary and go straight to the November ballot, but the petition requirement is substantially heavier than the pauper's route and the window is later.
- Signatures from 5% of the registered voters eligible to vote for that office, for any non-statewide office.
- 1% for statewide office.
- No more than 180 days may pass between the first signature and the last, and separate sheets are required for signers in different counties.
The 5% requirement was challenged in federal court and reduced on an interim basis, but the Eleventh Circuit reversed that in January 2022, so the full 5% stands.
Statutory references: O.C.G.A. 21-2-131 (qualifying fees) · O.C.G.A. 21-2-132 (qualifying, pauper's affidavit) · O.C.G.A. 21-2-153 (party qualifying) · O.C.G.A. 21-2-170 (nominating petitions). Fees and signature counts change; confirm before you file.
The Coweta County Elections and Voter Registration.
Your county election office runs the election, holds the district and precinct maps, and handles qualifying for nonpartisan offices. For a partisan county race the qualifying paperwork itself goes to your county party, but this is still the office to ask about anything specific to your county.
- Office
- 87 Newnan Station Drive, Suite 400, Newnan, GA 30265
- Phone
- (770) 254-2615
Contact details verified 2026-08-11. Official statewide sources: Georgia Secretary of State — Elections Division · Georgia county election offices.
Common questions.
When is qualifying week for county office in Coweta County?
For the 2026 cycle it ran from Monday, March 2 to noon on Friday, March 6, 2026, and it has closed. Georgia holds qualifying in a single week in early March of the election year, so the next one for Coweta County offices falls in early March 2030 for the four-year county seats, and in March 2028 for any seat on a staggered cycle.
How much does it cost to run for county office in Coweta County?
Georgia sets the qualifying fee at 3% of the annual salary of the office, so there is no single figure — it depends on what that post pays in Coweta County. For scale, a Georgia House or Senate seat is $400. If you cannot afford the fee, Georgia lets you file a pauper's affidavit with a petition signed by 1% of the voters eligible to vote for the office instead.
Where do I qualify to run for office in Coweta County?
For a partisan county office, with your county political party — the Republican or Democratic county committee for Coweta County — during qualifying week. For a nonpartisan office such as the board of education in most counties, with the county election superintendent. Independent candidates file with the Secretary of State in a separate window in late June.
Where is the Coweta County election office?
The office that runs elections in Coweta County is named on this page with its address, phone number and website. Georgia counties differ in how this is organised — most have a board of elections and registration, some run it through an elections supervisor or the probate court.
Do I have to win a primary to run for county office in Coweta County?
If you are running with a party, yes. Georgia holds its primary in May, with a runoff in June for any race where nobody won an outright majority. Georgia also runs a runoff after the November general election if no candidate clears 50%, which can extend a close race into December.
How many registered voters are in Coweta County?
Motion51 does not hold the Georgia voter file, so we do not publish a registration count for Coweta County. How the county voted in the last presidential election is shown at the top of this page, and official registration figures come from the Georgia Secretary of State and your county election office.
After you qualify: the field operation.
Georgia's qualifying week is short and early, which means the decision to run is made long before most people are paying attention — and everything after it is field work. In a state that decides races in runoffs as often as Georgia does, knowing which of your voters will turn out twice matters more than it does almost anywhere else.
That is the part Motion51 was built for. You scope your district, cut turf, and send volunteers out with a phone instead of a clipboard. It works offline, so canvassing does not stop where the cell signal does, and every door is logged with a timestamp for your records. Our For Candidates page walks through what that looks like.
Counties next to Coweta.
Running in a district that crosses a county line? Each of these has its own guide.