HB852: HB852 Athens-Clarke County; Board of Elections and Registration; reconstitute and reestablish

Athens-Clarke County currently has a Board of Elections and Registration created by a 1993 local law. This bill would reconstitute and reestablish that board under new terms, making it the legal successor to the 1993 board and giving it the combined powers of an election superintendent and a board of registrars under Title 21 of Georgia's election code (O.C.G.A. Title 21). The bill sets a five member board, two appointed from nominations by each of the county's two leading political parties and one nonpartisan member, all appointed by the county's governing authority for two year terms. It creates a supervisor of elections and registration who runs daily operations but is not a board member, sets rules for vacancies, removal, meetings, and compensation, and allows the board to contract with municipalities and spend public funds on nonpartisan voter education. The Act only takes effect if a separate 2025 bill abolishing the 1993 board is also enacted; otherwise this Act is automatically repealed on July 1, 2025.

• Reconstitutes and reestablishes the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections and Registration as the legal successor to the board created by a 1993 local law.
• Sets a five member board structure: two members nominated by each of the county's top two political parties and one nonpartisan member, all appointed by the county governing authority for two year terms.
• Creates a full time supervisor of elections and registration, appointed and removable by the county manager, who runs daily operations but does not sit on the board.
• Gives the board the combined legal powers of an election superintendent and a board of registrars over elections, voter registration, and absentee balloting under Title 21 of the O.C.G.A.
• Allows the board to contract with municipalities to run their elections and to spend public funds on nonpartisan voter education materials.
• Makes the entire Act contingent on passage of a separate 2025 bill abolishing the 1993 board, with automatic repeal on July 1, 2025 if that companion bill is not enacted.

Athens-Clarke County voters, election officials, and poll workers; the county's two leading political parties, which nominate board members; the Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County, which appoints and funds the board and supervisor; and municipalities within the county that may contract with the board for elections.

The bill would change who controls how elections and voter registration are run in Athens-Clarke County, including how board members are chosen, who oversees daily election operations, and how the board is funded and staffed, directly shaping how local elections are administered.

• Section 1 reconstitutes the board effective July 1, 2025, giving it the combined powers of an election superintendent and board of registrars, as the successor to the 1993 board.
• Section 2 sets board composition: two members nominated by each of the top two parties and one nonpartisan member, all appointed by the county governing authority for two year terms (one year for initial members).
• Section 4 sets vacancy and removal procedures, requiring nominations for replacements within 90 days and removal only for cause after notice and a hearing.
• Section 8 creates a supervisor of elections and registration, appointed and removed by the county manager, who is not a board member and serves as a full time county employee.
• Section 9 authorizes the board to contract with municipalities to hold their primaries or elections.
• Section 10 allows the board to spend public funds on voter education materials but bars any political commentary or opinion in those materials.
• Section 12 requires the board to hold regular monthly meetings and comply with Georgia's open meetings law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 14 of Title 50).
• Section 16 makes the Act's effectiveness contingent on passage of a separate 2025 bill abolishing the 1993 board, with automatic repeal on July 1, 2025 otherwise.

1. 2025-03-31House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
2. 2025-03-31House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
3. 2025-03-31House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
4. 2025-03-31House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
5. 2025-03-27House Second Readers (House)
6. 2025-03-25House First Readers (House)
7. 2025-03-25House Hopper (House)

• Houston Gaines (R, HD-120)Primary sponsor
• Marcus Wiedower (R, HD-121)
• Trey Rhodes (R, HD-124)

• election administration
• Athens-Clarke County
• voter registration
• local government
• board appointments