A Peachtree City man has announced he will seek election as Georgia’s next Secretary of State.

Gary Horlacher filed paperwork Tuesday to run for the Democratic nomination in the race. Horlacher, an attorney, has practiced law for the past nine years, also serving as a legislative lobbyist on issues including technology, healthcare, transportation, land use, labor and employment.

Horlacher is proposing to work with all 159 Georgia counties to allow early voting on Saturdays. He also wants to create a “paper trail” for voting machines to inspire voters’ confidence in the elections system.

“I am entering this race because I have a genuine passion for public service and want to fundamentally change the way government operates in Georgia,” Horlacher said. He also promised a campaign in which he will be held accountable.

Horlacher noted that the Secretary of State’s office oversees the accuracy and integrity of elections, administers corporate registrations, manages 36 Licensing Boards which issue over 400,000 licenses throughout the state, in addition to regulating and investigating the state’s securities and investment industries, and overseeing the preservation of Georgia’s historic archives.

“It will also be my top priority to immediately eliminate the partisan shenanigans that have crept into this office over the last few years,” Horlacher said.

Horlacher is a graduate of Fayette County High School and previously served as the legal aide for the House Judiciary Committee in the Georgia General Assembly.
For the past nine years, Horlacher has practiced law. First at Alston & Bird, among the nation’s top law firms, where, as a member of the Legislative and Public Policy Practice Group, he represented clients on issues relating to healthcare, technology, the environment, ethics, state election law, and many other areas.

Horlacher also represented, on a pro bono basis, a man who was exonerated through DNA evidence after serving 23 years for a crime he didn’t commit. He also helped Robert Clark obtain $1.2 million in compensation from the State.

Horlacher is now a Partner at the law firm Adorno & Yoss which is the largest certified minority-owned law firm in the country.

Gary and his wife of 32 years, Teresa, have three children: Matthew, Caroline and Katie. They are members of Peachtree City United Methodist Church.

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