HB40: HB40 Elections; Secretary of State shall serve as chairperson of the State Election Board; provide

Georgia's State Election Board currently has a chairperson who is elected by the General Assembly through a formal nomination and confirmation process involving both the House and Senate, and that chairperson is required to be nonpartisan and cannot have recent ties to a political party or campaign. House Bill 40 changes this by rewriting O.C.G.A. § 21-2-30 so that the Secretary of State, an elected statewide partisan official, automatically becomes the board's chairperson. The rest of the board's structure stays largely the same under the bill's text: one member elected by the Senate, one elected by the House, and one member appointed for each recognized political party. The bill keeps existing rules on quorum, meetings, vacancies, the board's budget status, and the powers of the board's executive director. Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

• Changes O.C.G.A. § 21-2-30 so the State Election Board is composed of the Secretary of State serving as chairperson, rather than a separate person elected to that role.
• Removes the prior arrangement in which the General Assembly elected a nonpartisan chairperson through a joint resolution, nomination, and confirmation process.
• Keeps the Senate-elected member, House-elected member, and one appointed member per political party as part of the board's membership.
• Leaves in place existing rules on quorum, meetings, vacancies, the board's separate budget status, and the duties of the board's executive director.

The Secretary of State's office, which would gain the chairperson role on the State Election Board; the General Assembly, which loses its role in electing a separate chairperson; and the board's other members and staff, including its executive director and the political parties that appoint members.

Because the Secretary of State is a partisan elected official, giving that office automatic control of the board's chairperson role changes who sets meeting agendas, calls meetings, and leads a board with authority over Georgia's election rules and enforcement, shifting that influence away from a separately elected, nonpartisan chairperson.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 21-2-30(a) to designate the Secretary of State as the board's chairperson instead of a separately elected chairperson.
• The revised section keeps one board member elected by the Senate and one elected by the House of Representatives, each serving two-year terms.
• The revised section keeps one appointed member for each political party, nominated by that party's state executive committee and appointed by the Governor.
• Existing provisions on quorum (three voting members), meetings, vacancies, the board's separate budget unit status, and the executive director's duties remain unchanged in the text.
• Section 2 repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this Act.

1. 2025-01-16House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-01-15House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-01-14House Hopper (House)

• Floyd Griffin (D, HD-149)Primary sponsor
• Saira Draper (D, HD-090)
• Billy Mitchell (D, HD-088)
• L.C. Myles (D, HD-126)
• Samuel Park (D, HD-107)

• election administration
• State Election Board
• Secretary of State
• election law