HB 509: Oath Act; enact

Georgia law already blocks anyone found to be a 'subversive person' under a 1953 state law from running for or holding office. This bill adds a second disqualification tied to Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which bars people who took an oath to support the Constitution and later engaged in insurrection or rebellion, unless Congress removes that disability. It also targets anyone who unlawfully participates in or certifies the selection or casting of presidential electors' votes. The bill directs election superintendents, political parties, and political bodies not to qualify or list such disqualified people on any ballot. It also rewrites Georgia's office-vacancy law (O.C.G.A. § 45-5-1) to say an office becomes vacant if the officeholder falls under the Fourteenth Amendment disqualification or is found to be a subversive person. The bill states legislative findings citing the Insurrection Clause and Georgia's 1868 ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, and it repeals conflicting laws.

• Adds a new disqualification barring people covered by Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment (the Insurrection Clause) from being nominated or elected to Georgia or federal office.
• Bars people who unlawfully participated in or certified presidential elector selection or vote-casting from being nominated or elected to office.
• Prohibits election superintendents, political parties, and political bodies from qualifying or listing disqualified persons on any ballot.
• Amends Georgia's office-vacancy law (O.C.G.A. § 45-5-1) so an office is automatically vacated if the Fourteenth Amendment disqualification applies or the officeholder is found to be a 'subversive person.'
• Keeps the existing bar on nominating or electing anyone already adjudged a 'subversive person' under the 1953 Sedition and Subversive Activities Act.
• States legislative findings quoting the Insurrection Clause and Georgia's 1868 ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment as the basis for the law.

Candidates for federal or state office who previously took an oath to support the U.S. Constitution, election superintendents, political parties and political bodies that place candidates on ballots, current officeholders subject to removal, and anyone involved in selecting or certifying presidential electors' votes.

If enacted, Georgia election officials and parties would gain a legal basis to keep certain people off the ballot and to declare an officeholder's seat vacant based on findings tied to insurrection, rebellion, or unlawful presidential elector activity, changing how such disqualifications are enforced under state law.

• Section 2 lays out legislative findings quoting Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment and noting Georgia ratified the amendment on July 27, 1868.
• Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 21-2-7 to add subsections (b) through (d) barring nomination or election of people disqualified under the Insurrection Clause or involved in unlawful presidential elector actions.
• Section 3 also directs election superintendents, political parties, and political bodies not to qualify or list disqualified persons on any ballot.
• Section 4 revises O.C.G.A. § 45-5-1 to add two new grounds for vacating a state office: Fourteenth Amendment disqualification and being defined as a 'subversive person.'
• Section 5 repeals all conflicting laws.

1. 2025-02-21House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-20House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-19House Hopper (House)

• Derrick Jackson (D, HD-068)Primary sponsor
• Lydia Glaize (D, HD-067)
• Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)
• Viola Davis (D, HD-087)

• election rules
• ballot eligibility
• insurrection clause
• office vacancy law
• presidential electors