HB 661: Elections; qualifications for and registration of voters; enhance penalties

Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 21-2-216) sets out who qualifies to register and vote, including rules on reregistering after being purged from the voter list, residency and citizenship requirements, and checks against felon and deceased-person databases. Currently that section does not spell out its own criminal penalty for violations. This bill adds a new subsection to that Code section stating that any violation is a felony, punished according to Code Section 21-2-600, Georgia's general election crimes penalty provision. The bill does not change any of the underlying qualification or registration rules themselves, only the punishment for breaking them. It repeals any conflicting laws and does not list a delayed effective date, so it would take effect under Georgia's standard rules once signed.

• Adds a new subsection (i) to O.C.G.A. § 21-2-216 making any violation of that Code section a felony.
• Ties the punishment for violating voter qualification and registration rules to the penalties already set out in O.C.G.A. § 21-2-600.
• Leaves the existing qualification, reregistration, residency, citizenship, and felon/deceased-database check rules in that section unchanged in substance.
• Repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this new felony designation.

The bill affects anyone who registers to vote or attempts to vote in Georgia, including people previously purged from voter rolls, nonresidents voting in presidential elections, and election officials who enforce citizenship and eligibility checks under this Code section.

By labeling any violation of Georgia's voter qualification rules a felony rather than leaving the penalty unspecified or lesser, the bill raises the legal stakes for registration or eligibility mistakes and violations, which could mean harsher criminal consequences, including possible prison time, for people found in violation.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 21-2-216 by inserting a new subsection (i) declaring that violations of the section are felonies.
• The penalty for a violation is set by cross-reference to O.C.G.A. § 21-2-600, an existing Code section covering election-related criminal penalties.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard clause with no substantive effect beyond the new felony provision.

1. 2025-03-03House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-28House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-27House Hopper (House)

• Charlice Byrd (R, HD-20)Primary sponsor
• Noelle Kahaian (R, HD-81)
• Carter Barrett (R, HD-24)
• Jordan Ridley (R, HD-22)
• Johnny Chastain (R, HD-7)
• Matthew Gambill (R, HD-15)

• voter registration
• election law
• voter qualifications
• election penalties