Georgia CommonsHB 1467: Elections; motor-voter applications shall be opt-in instead of opt-out; provide
Last action March 3, 2026 · House Second Readers
House Bill 1467 would change Georgia's motor-voter system from automatic opt-out registration to opt-in, meaning people applying for or renewing a driver's license would have to actively sign up to register to vote rather than being registered by default.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Under current Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 21-2-221), when someone applies for, renews, or changes the address on a driver's license or ID card through the Department of Driver Services, that application also automatically serves as a voter registration application unless the person specifically declines or fails to sign the voter registration section. This bill flips that default. House Bill 1467 rewrites subsection (a) of that Code section so the license application 'may' serve as a voter registration application instead of automatically doing so. Applicants who are eligible would need to actively sign the voter registration application to register or to update their address on file, rather than being registered unless they opt out. The bill repeals conflicting laws and does not state a separate effective date beyond standard enactment.
What the bill does
- Changes Georgia's motor-voter process so a driver's license or ID application no longer automatically doubles as voter registration.
- Requires eligible applicants to actively sign the voter registration application to register or update their address, making it opt-in rather than opt-out.
- Removes the current language allowing registration to happen automatically unless the applicant specifically declines or fails to sign.
- Applies to people within six months of their eighteenth birthday or older who apply to obtain, renew, or change the name or address on a driver's license or ID card.
Who it affects
Georgia residents applying for, renewing, or updating a driver's license or state ID through the Department of Driver Services, especially those near voting age or moving addresses, as well as election officials and the Department of Driver Services, which administers the combined license and registration process.
Why it matters
People getting or renewing a driver's license would no longer be registered to vote by default; they would need to take the extra step of signing the voter registration section themselves. This could change how many people end up registered through the motor-voter process at license offices.
Key provisions
- Section 1 revises subsection (a) of O.C.G.A. § 21-2-221, changing 'shall' also serve as a voter registration application to 'may, if eligible' serve as one.
- Section 1 removes the existing opt-out language that let registration happen automatically unless the applicant declined or failed to sign.
- Section 1 adds language specifying the applicant may sign the voter registration application to register or update an address change.
- Section 2 repeals all laws and parts of laws in conflict with the Act.
From the bill
“also serve as an application for voter registration”
“The applicant may sign the voter registration application to register to vote or to update the voter's registration if the voter has changed his or her address.”
Status timeline
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Tim Fleming (R, HD-114)
- Joseph Gullett (R, HD-019)
- Martin Momtahan (R, HD-017)
- Mitchell Scoggins (R, HD-014)
- Trey Kelley (R, HD-016)
Topics
- voter registration
- motor-voter law
- election rules
- driver's license applications