--- title: HB 1531. Ball Ground, City of; primaries and elections shall be held and conducted in accordance with the Georgia Election Code; revise provisions collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb1531 cite_as: HB 1531, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1531 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1531.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1531/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73991 date: 2026-05-11 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1530.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1532.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 887 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1531.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 1531 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2026-05-11 last_action: Effective Date 2026-05-11 sponsors: - Rick Jasperse text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1531/2025 upstream_id: 2131404 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - local elections - municipal charter - election rules - Ball Ground - candidate qualifying --- # HB 1531. Ball Ground, City of; primaries and elections shall be held and conducted in accordance with the Georgia Election Code; revise provisions ## Text House Bill 1531 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representative Jasperse of the 11th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend an Act providing a new charter for the City of Ball Ground, approved March 28, 1990 (Ga. L. 1990, p. 4552), as amended, so as to revise provisions relating to elections so as to provide that primaries and elections for the City of Ball Ground shall be held and conducted in accordance with the "Georgia Election Code"; to make conforming changes; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. An Act providing a new charter for the City of Ball Ground, approved March 28, 1990 (Ga. L. 1990, p. 4552), as amended, is amended by revising subsection (b) of Section 2.10 as follows: "(b) The mayor and councilmembers shall serve for terms of four years and until their respective successors are elected and qualified. No person shall be eligible to serve as mayor or councilmember unless that person shall have been a resident of the city for 12 months prior to the date of election of mayor or councilmembers; each councilmember shall continue to reside therein and be registered and qualified to vote in municipal elections of the city during his or her period of service." SECTION 2. Said Act is further amended by revising subsection (b) of Section 2.11 as follows: "(b) All primaries and elections shall be held and conducted in accordance with Chapter 2 of Title 21 of the O.C.G.A., the 'Georgia Election Code,' as now or hereafter amended. Candidates for nonpartisan city offices shall file a notice of candidacy during the city's nonpartisan qualifying period as provided for in Code Section 21-2-132 of the O.C.G.A. for candidates for a nonpartisan municipal office." SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. House Bill 1531 updates the City of Ball Ground's charter to require that its municipal primaries and elections follow the statewide Georgia Election Code, replacing older local rules. ### Plain-language summary The City of Ball Ground currently operates under a charter approved in 1990 that sets its own rules for how city elections and primaries are conducted. This bill rewrites parts of that charter so the city's primaries and elections must instead follow Chapter 2 of Title 21 of Georgia law, known as the Georgia Election Code, which governs elections statewide. The bill also makes a related, conforming change to how candidates qualify. Candidates for the city's nonpartisan offices, such as mayor and council seats, must file a notice of candidacy during the city's nonpartisan qualifying period under O.C.G.A. § 21-2-132. A separate provision on residency requirements for the mayor and council members is also rewritten, though its substance (12 months' prior residency and continued residency during service) stays largely the same. Any older laws that conflict with these changes are repealed. ### What it does - Requires that all primaries and elections for the City of Ball Ground be held and conducted under the statewide Georgia Election Code (O.C.G.A. Title 21, Chapter 2) instead of separate local rules. - Requires candidates for nonpartisan city offices to file a notice of candidacy during the city's nonpartisan qualifying period, per O.C.G.A. § 21-2-132. - Rewrites the charter's residency requirement so the mayor and council members must have lived in the city for 12 months before their election and remain residents and registered voters during their term. - Repeals any prior city charter provisions or other laws that conflict with these new election rules. ### Who it affects City of Ball Ground residents, voters, and anyone running for mayor or city council; the city's election officials who administer local elections; and county or state election staff who help conduct city elections under the statewide code. ### Why it matters By tying Ball Ground's local elections to the same statewide Georgia Election Code used elsewhere, the city's election procedures, such as qualifying deadlines and voting rules, would align with state law rather than older, city-specific provisions, which could reduce confusion for candidates and voters. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises subsection (b) of Section 2.10 of the city charter, restating the four-year terms and 12-month residency requirement for mayor and council members. - Section 2 revises subsection (b) of Section 2.11 of the city charter to require all city primaries and elections to follow the Georgia Election Code (O.C.G.A. Title 21, Chapter 2). - Section 2 also requires nonpartisan candidates to file a notice of candidacy during the city's nonpartisan qualifying period under O.C.G.A. § 21-2-132. - Section 3 repeals any conflicting prior laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-05-11) - Last action: Effective Date 2026-05-11 (2026-05-11) - Sponsors: Rick Jasperse - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73991 > The history, votes, and amendments (887 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1531.md?full=1