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Who sets the date for a special election in Georgia and what is the governor's authority and timeline?
Executive summary
Georgia law and practice show two different authorities can “call” — i.e., set — special election dates depending on the office: the Georgia Secretary of State commonly issues formal “calls” for statewide and many legislative special elections (several calls in 2025 were issued by Secretary Brad Raffensperger), while the governor is cited in reporting as the official who would set the date for a U.S. House vacancy special election in at least one recent example (Gov. Brian Kemp for Marjorie Taylor Greene’s seat) [1] [2]. Exact timelines (qualifying, registration, early voting) then follow statutory deadlines and the Secretary of State’s published election calendar [3] [4].
1. Who formally issues the call for a special election: the Secretary of State’s role
For many special elections in 2025 the Georgia Secretary of State issued formal “calls” announcing dates, qualifying periods and registration deadlines — for example, Secretary Raffensperger’s public notices for Public Service Commission races and multiple state house and senate special elections that specify dates like November 4, November 18 and December 9, 2025 [1] [4] [5] [6]. Those Secretary of State notices include dates for primaries, runoffs, qualifying windows and voter-registration cutoffs, indicating the Secretary’s administrative role in publicly setting and calendaring those contests [1] [4].
2. Where the governor fits: reporting on congressional vacancies
Reporting shows the governor can be the authority to set the date for a special election to fill a U.S. House vacancy. Atlanta News First reported that if a special election is required to fill Marjorie Taylor Greene’s congressional seat, “Gov. Brian Kemp will be the elected official to set the date,” citing Greene’s announced resignation timing as the trigger [2]. That reporting presents the governor as the decision-maker for scheduling at least federal-seat special elections, though the item is a local news report rather than a statutory text in the provided materials [2].
3. The interplay: statutes, administrative practice and published calendars
Once a date is called, statutory timelines and the Secretary of State’s election calendar determine the downstream schedule: qualifying windows, registration deadlines, early voting start dates, and runoff dates. The Georgia Secretary of State’s 2025 election calendar spells out rules such as early processing start dates and deadlines tied to the announced election day — for example, providing the process that “beginning at 8:00 A.M. on the third Monday prior to the day of the primary, election, or runoff, the election superintendent shall be authorized…” and showing specific deadlines for November 4 special elections [3]. Individual Secretary of State “call” notices then embed concrete qualifying and registration dates for each contest [1] [4].
4. Examples from 2025: how dates and timelines were communicated
Concrete examples from 2025 illustrate the pattern: Secretary Raffensperger’s notice called a November 4, 2025 special election for two Public Service Commission districts and listed a June 17 special primary and a July 15 runoff date if needed, along with registration and early-voting cutoffs [1]. Separate Secretary notices called a November 4 special election for State House District 106 in Gwinnett County with qualifying in mid-September and early-voting windows beginning in October [4]. For Senate District 35, the Secretary called a November 18 special election with qualifying set for late September and a voter-registration cutoff in October [6]. Those notices specify the timetable local election officials must follow [4] [6].
5. Conflicting or unclear points in the record
The available materials show some variation in who issues the public notice for different contests: multiple Secretary of State “calls” are on the public record [1] [4] [5] [6], while at least one news story names the governor as the person who would set the date for a U.S. House vacancy [2]. The sources do not include the statutory text making that gubernatorial power explicit in every case; available sources do not mention the precise statute quoted in the reporting that assigns the governor that power for congressional vacancies, so readers should treat the governor-role example as reporting of practice rather than a legal citation in these materials [2].
6. Practical takeaway for voters and officials
In practice, expect (a) the Secretary of State to post formal “call” notices that set the election calendar, qualifying and registration timelines for most state-level special contests [1] [4], and (b) for some federal-seat vacancies reporters and officials indicate the governor may decide the special-election date [2]. After a date is set, the Secretary of State’s election calendar prescribes administrative deadlines — e.g., early processing start, registration cutoffs, and runoff schedules — which county election boards implement locally [3] [7].
Limitations: this summary relies only on the documents and reporting provided; the exact statutory allocation of power (which office has final legal authority for every category of vacancy) is not fully quoted in these sources, so readers seeking the precise legal text should consult the Georgia Code or the Secretary of State’s legal guidance directly (available sources do not mention the full statutory language assigning powers in every case).