Georgia CommonsHouse · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 640: Alpharetta, City of; election of city offices by majority vote; provide
Last action May 13, 2025 · Effective Date
House Bill 640 changes how Alpharetta elects its city officials, requiring a majority vote and setting up a runoff between the top two finishers when no one gets a majority.
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 Enrolled version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Alpharetta's city charter, first set in 1981, previously governed how city office elections were decided. This bill amends Section 5.16 of that charter to spell out a majority-vote election system for city offices. Under the revised language, a candidate must receive a majority of votes cast to win a city office outright. If no candidate reaches a majority, the two candidates with the most votes advance to a runoff election, and whoever wins a majority of votes in that runoff is elected. The bill also repeals any existing laws that conflict with this new rule, meaning older provisions inconsistent with the majority-vote and runoff process would no longer apply in Alpharetta.
What the bill does
- Rewrites Section 5.16 of Alpharetta's city charter to require a majority of votes cast to win any city office.
- Creates a runoff election between the top two vote-getters when no candidate wins a majority in the first round.
- Requires the runoff winner to also receive a majority of votes cast in that runoff election.
- Repeals any existing laws or parts of laws that conflict with this new majority-vote requirement.
Who it affects
Residents of the City of Alpharetta who vote in city elections, candidates running for Alpharetta city offices, and local election officials who administer city elections and any runoffs.
Why it matters
City elections in Alpharetta would now require a true majority winner rather than just the most votes, meaning close multi-candidate races could trigger a runoff, adding an extra election and step before officials take office.
Key provisions
- Section 1 revises Section 5.16 of Alpharetta's 1981 charter Act to require a majority vote to win any city office.
- Section 1 establishes that if no candidate wins a majority, a runoff is held between the two highest vote-getters.
- Section 1 requires the runoff winner to receive a majority of votes cast in that runoff to be elected.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, removing prior provisions inconsistent with this majority-vote and runoff system.
From the bill
“The person receiving a majority of the votes cast for any city office shall be elected.”
“a runoff between the candidates receiving the two highest numbers of votes shall be held, and the person receiving a majority of the votes cast in the run-off election shall be elected.”
Status timeline
- Effective Date
- Act 159
- House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- House Sent to Governor (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted (House)
Show full history (13 actions)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Chuck Martin (R, HD-49)
- Jan Jones (R, HD-47)
- Todd Jones (R, HD-25)
- Michelle Au (D, HD-50)
- Scott Hilton (R, HD-48)
Votes
- House voteMarch 4, 2025
172 yea, 0 nay (6 not voting, 2 excused)
- Senate voteMarch 18, 2025
51 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 3 excused)
Topics
- local elections
- city government
- Alpharetta
- election rules
- runoff elections