--- title: HB 661. Elections; qualifications for and registration of voters; enhance penalties collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb661 cite_as: HB 661, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb661 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb661.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb661/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70940 date: 2025-03-03 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-09-12 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/hb660.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb662.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb661.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 661 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-02-27 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Charlice Byrd - Noelle Kahaian - Carter Barrett - Jordan Ridley - Johnny Chastain - Matthew Gambill text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB661/2025 upstream_id: 1987893 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - election rules - voter registration - voter fraud penalties - election law --- # HB 661. Elections; qualifications for and registration of voters; enhance penalties ## Text House Bill 661 By: Representatives Byrd of the 20th, Kahaian of the 81st, Barrett of the 24th, Ridley of the 22nd, Chastain of the 7th, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Chapter 2 of Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elections and primaries generally, so as to enhance penalties related to qualifications for and registration of voters; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. Chapter 2 of Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elections and primaries generally, is amended in Code Section 21-2-216, relating to qualifications of electors generally, reregistration of electors purged from list, eligibility of nonresidents who vote in presidential elections, retention of qualification for standing as elector, evidence of citizenship, and check of convicted felons and deceased persons databases, by adding a new subsection to read as follows: "(i) Violation of this Code section shall constitute a felony, and upon conviction shall be punished as provided for in Code Section 21-2-600." SECTION 2. 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 661 would make any violation of Georgia's voter qualification and registration law a felony, punishable under the state's existing election crimes penalty statute. ### Plain-language summary Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 21-2-216) sets out who qualifies to register and vote, including rules on purged voters, nonresident voting in presidential elections, proof of citizenship, and checks against felon and deceased-person databases. Currently that section does not spell out a specific criminal penalty for breaking its rules. This bill adds a new subsection to that law stating that any violation of the section is a felony, punished according to the penalty already set out in a separate election law, O.C.G.A. § 21-2-600. The bill does not change who qualifies to vote or how registration works; it only adds the felony penalty for violating the existing qualification rules. If enacted, the change would apply once the bill becomes law, and the bill also repeals any conflicting laws. ### What it does - Adds a new subsection to Georgia's voter qualification law (O.C.G.A. § 21-2-216) declaring any violation of that section a felony. - Directs that people convicted under this section be punished according to the penalty already established in O.C.G.A. § 21-2-600, a separate election crimes statute. - Repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this new felony designation. ### Who it affects The bill affects anyone subject to Georgia's voter qualification and registration rules, including people registering to vote, election officials who enforce eligibility checks, and anyone found to have violated qualification requirements such as improper registration or voting by ineligible individuals. ### Why it matters By making any violation of the qualification and registration statute a felony, the bill raises the legal stakes for voters and officials involved in registration disputes, meaning conduct that might previously have carried a lesser or unspecified penalty could now result in a felony conviction and its associated consequences. ### Key provisions - Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 21-2-216 by adding subsection (i), which states that violating the section is a felony. - Subsection (i) ties punishment to the penalty scheme already set out in O.C.G.A. § 21-2-600, rather than creating a new standalone penalty amount. - Section 2 repeals all laws and parts of laws that conflict with the new provision. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-02-27) - Last action: House Second Readers (2025-03-03) - Sponsors: Charlice Byrd, Noelle Kahaian, Carter Barrett, Jordan Ridley, Johnny Chastain, Matthew Gambill - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70940 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb661.md?full=1