--- title: HB 215. Voter List Integrity Act; enact collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb215 cite_as: HB 215, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb215 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb215.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb215/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69748 date: 2025-04-04 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 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/hb214.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb216.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 249 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb215.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 215 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-01-30 last_action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted sponsors: - Martin Momtahan - Tim Fleming - Rick Townsend - Mandi Ballinger - Rick Jasperse - Joseph Gullett text_version: Comm Sub has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB215/2025 upstream_id: 1949606 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - voter registration - election administration - voter list maintenance - ERIC data sharing - election law --- # HB 215. Voter List Integrity Act; enact ## Text 25 LC 47 3419S The House Committee on Governmental Affairs offers the following substitute to HB 215: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Chapter 2 of Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to1 elections and primaries generally, so as to remove authorization for the Secretary of State to2 become a member of a nongovernmental entity whose purpose is to share and exchange3 information in order to improve the accuracy and efficiency of voter registration systems; to4 provide for definitions; to maintain an exemption to the disclosure of certain documents; to5 prohibit the Secretary of State, other state level actors, and local boards of registrars and6 election superintendents from participating in certain multista te voter list maintenance7 organizations; to require the termination of participation in any prohibited multistate voter8 list maintenance organizations; to authorize the Secretary of S tate to enter into voter list9 maintenance joint compacts with other states; to authorize the sharing of driver's license and10 identification card information; to provide conditions for entering such compacts; to make11 conforming changes; to provide for related matters; to provide for a short title; to provide for12 an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.13 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:14 SECTION 1.15 This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Voter List Integrity Act."16 H. B. 215 (SUB) - 1 - 25 LC 47 3419S SECTION 2.17 Chapter 2 of Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated , relating to elections and18 primaries generally, is amended by revising Code Section 21-2-2, relating to definitions, by19 adding new paragraphs to read as follows:20 "(11.1) 'Multistate voter list maintenance organization' means any entity, organization,21 consortium, or cooperative agreement among states or jurisdicti ons that involves the22 sharing of voter registration data for the purpose of voter list maintenance."23 "(39.1) 'Voter list maintenance' means the process of ensuring the accuracy and currency24 of voter registration lists, including, but not limited to, rem oving ineligible voters and25 updating records."26 SECTION 3.27 Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 21-2-225, relating to restrictions28 on public inspection of applications for voter registration and data on electors, and 29 membership of Secretary of State in nongovernmental entity for purpose of improving voter30 registration systems, as follows:31 "21-2-225.32 (a) Neither the original applications for voter registration nor any copies thereof shall be33 open for public inspection except upon order of a court of competent jurisdiction.34 (b) Except as provided in Code Section 21-2-225.1, all data collected and maintained on35 electors whose names appear on the list of electors maintained by the Secretary of State36 pursuant to this article shall be available for public inspection with the exception of bank37 statements submitted pursuant to subsection (c) of Code Section 21-2-220 and38 subsection (c) of Code Section 21-2-417, the month and day of b irth, the social security39 numbers, email addresses, and driver's license numbers of the electors, and the locations40 at which the electors applied to register to vote, which shall remain confidential and shall41 be used only for voter registration purposes; provided, however , that any and all42 H. B. 215 (SUB) - 2 - 25 LC 47 3419S information relating to the dates of birth, social security num bers, and driver's license43 numbers of electors may be made available to other agencies of this state, to agencies of44 other states and territories of the United States, and to agencies of the federal government45 if the agency is authorized to maintain such information and the information is used only46 to identify the elector on the receiving agency's data base and is not disseminated further47 and remains confidential. Information regarding an elector's year of birth shall be available48 for public inspection.49 (c) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to furnish copies of such data as may be50 collected and maintained on electors whose names appear on the list of electors maintained51 by the Secretary of State pursuant to this article, within the limitations provided in this52 article, on electronic media or computer run list or both. Not withstanding any other53 provision of law to the contrary, the Secretary of State shall establish the cost to be charged54 for such data. The Secretary of State may contract with private vendors to make such data55 available in accordance with this subsection. Such data may not be used by any person for56 commercial purposes.57 (d)(1) The Secretary of State may become a member of a nongovernmental entity whose58 purpose is to share and exchange information in order to improv e the accuracy and59 efficiency of voter registration systems. The membership of the nongovernmental entity60 shall be composed solely of election officials of state and ter ritorial governments of the61 United States, except that such membership may also include ele ction officials of the62 District of Columbia.63 (2) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the Secretary of State may64 share confidential and exempt information after becoming a memb er of such65 nongovernmental entity as provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection.66 (3) The Secretary of State may become a member of such nongovernmental entity only67 if such entity is controlled and operated by the participating jurisdictions. The entity shall68 not be operated or controlled by the federal government or any other entity acting on69 H. B. 215 (SUB) - 3 - 25 LC 47 3419S behalf of the federal government. The Secretary of State must be able to withdraw at any70 time from any such membership in such nongovernmental entity.71 (4) If the Secretary of State becomes a member of such nongove rnmental entity, the72 Department of Driver Services shall, pursuant to an agreement w ith the Secretary of73 State, provide driver's license or identification card information related to voter eligibility74 to the Secretary of State for the purpose of sharing and exchan ging voter registration75 information with such nongovernmental entity.76 (5) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, upon the Secretary o f State becoming a77 member of a nongovernmental entity as provided in this subsecti on, any information78 received by the Secretary of State prior to the effective date of this subsection from the79 a nongovernmental entity whose purpose was to share and exchange information in order80 to improve the accuracy and efficiency of voter registration sy stems is exempt from81 disclosure under Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, relating to open records, and any82 other provision of law. However, the Secretary of State may provide such information83 to the boards of registrars to conduct voter registration list maintenance activities.84 (e)(1) The Secretary of State or any other state department, agency, board, bureau, office,85 commission, public corporation, or authority or any board of re gistrars or election86 superintendent shall be prohibited from joining or participating in any multistate voter list87 maintenance organization that:88 (A) Requires or encourages the contacting of individuals who a re not currently89 registered to vote with the intent to register them to vote; or90 (B) Shares voter data outside of the explicit purpose of removing deceased, duplicate,91 or otherwise ineligible voters from the list of electors.92 (2) The Secretary of State or any other state department, agency, board, bureau, office,93 commission, public corporation, or authority or any board of re gistrars or election94 superintendent shall terminate participation in any multistate voter list maintenance95 H. B. 215 (SUB) - 4 - 25 LC 47 3419S organization prohibited by paragraph (1) of this subsection within 90 days of the effective96 date of this subsection.97 (f)(1) In order to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the voter registration system,98 the Secretary of State shall be authorized to enter into joint compacts with the chief99 election official of any other state or states for the purpose of sharing information for100 voter list maintenance.101 (2) Notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary, the Secretary of State may102 share confidential and exempt information after becoming a memb er of such voter list103 maintenance joint compact.104 (3) If the Secretary of State becomes a member of such voter l ist maintenance joint105 compact, the Department of Driver Services shall, pursuant to a n agreement with the106 Secretary of State, provide driver's license or identification card information related to107 voter eligibility to the Secretary of State for the purpose of sharing and exchanging voter108 registration information with the other state or states participating in such compact.109 (4) The Secretary of State must be able to withdraw from any such joint compact at any110 time."111 SECTION 4.112 Said chapter is further amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section 21-2-232, relating113 to removal of elector's name from list of electors, as follows:114 "(b)(1) When an elector of this state moves to another state and registers to vote and the115 registration officials in such state send a notice of cancellation reflecting the registration116 of the elector in the other state, which includes a copy of such elector's voter registration117 application bearing the elector's signature, the Secretary of S tate or the board of118 registrars, as the case may be, shall remove such elector's name from the list of electors.119 It shall not be necessary to send a confirmation notice to the elector in such120 circumstances.121 H. B. 215 (SUB) - 5 - 25 LC 47 3419S (2) When an elector of this state moves to another state and the registration officials in122 such other state or a nongovernmental entity as described in su bsection (d) of Code123 Section 21-2-225 send a notice of cancellation or other information indicating that the124 elector has moved to such state but such notice or information does not include a copy125 of such elector's voter registration application in such other state bearing the elector's126 signature, the Secretary of State or the board of registrars, as the case may be, shall send127 a confirmation notice to the elector as provided in Code Section 21-2-234.128 (3) Once becoming a member of the nongovernmental entity described in subsection (d)129 of Code Section 21-2-225, the Secretary of State shall obtain regular information from130 such entity regarding electors who may have moved to another state, died, or otherwise131 become ineligible to vote in Georgia. The Secretary of State shall use such information132 to conduct list maintenance on the list of eligible electors."133 SECTION 5.134 This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law135 without such approval.136 SECTION 6.137 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.138 H. B. 215 (SUB) - 6 - ## 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 215 would ban Georgia election officials from taking part in multistate voter list-sharing groups that also try to register new voters, while letting the Secretary of State strike narrower list-maintenance deals directly with other states. ### Plain-language summary Georgia currently lets the Secretary of State join a nongovernmental group that shares voter registration data with other states to help keep voter lists accurate. This bill adds new definitions for "multistate voter list maintenance organization" and "voter list maintenance," and it bars the Secretary of State, other state agencies, and local boards of registrars or election superintendents from joining or staying in any multistate group that encourages registering unregistered voters or that shares voter data for reasons beyond removing dead, duplicate, or ineligible voters. Georgia would have to drop out of any such prohibited group within 90 days of the law taking effect. In place of those broader groups, the bill lets the Secretary of State sign narrower joint compacts directly with other states purely to maintain voter lists, and lets the Department of Driver Services share driver's license and ID data to support that work. Confidential voter information already received stays exempt from Georgia's open records law. The bill would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it otherwise becomes law. ### What it does - Adds legal definitions for "multistate voter list maintenance organization" and "voter list maintenance" to Georgia's election code (O.C.G.A. § 21-2-2). - Prohibits the Secretary of State, other state agencies, and local boards of registrars or election superintendents from joining multistate groups that encourage contacting unregistered voters or that share data beyond removing ineligible voters. - Requires Georgia to end participation in any prohibited multistate voter list group within 90 days of the law taking effect. - Authorizes the Secretary of State to enter separate joint compacts with other states solely for voter list maintenance, with driver's license and ID data sharing to support that work. - Keeps existing confidentiality protections for voter data already received from a nongovernmental list-sharing group, exempting it from Georgia's open records law (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70). ### Who it affects The Secretary of State's office, the Department of Driver Services, county boards of registrars, local election superintendents, and Georgia voters whose registration data and driver's license or ID information may be shared across states for list-maintenance purposes. ### Why it matters Georgia would have to leave any multistate voter data-sharing arrangement that does more than remove ineligible voters, such as ones that also promote registering new voters, and instead rely on narrower state-to-state deals focused only on list cleanup, changing how the state checks for voters who moved, died, or became ineligible. ### Key provisions - Section 2 defines "multistate voter list maintenance organization" and "voter list maintenance" in Georgia's election code. - Section 3 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 21-2-225 to keep the existing confidentiality exemption for data from a nongovernmental voter-data group and to add new subsections banning participation in multistate groups with certain features. - Section 3 requires termination of participation in a prohibited multistate group within 90 days of the effective date. - Section 3 authorizes the Secretary of State to enter joint compacts with other states for voter list maintenance and allows the Department of Driver Services to share driver's license or ID data to support those compacts. - Section 4 updates O.C.G.A. § 21-2-232 on removing voters who move to another state, including how information from a nongovernmental entity is used to send confirmation notices. - Section 5 sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law. - Section 1 gives the Act the short title "Voter List Integrity Act." ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-01-30) - Last action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted (2025-04-04) - Sponsors: Martin Momtahan, Tim Fleming, Rick Townsend, Mandi Ballinger, Rick Jasperse, Joseph Gullett - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69748 > The history, votes, and amendments (249 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb215.md?full=1