HB 73: Seminole County; Board of Education; provide nonpartisan elections

This bill amends the 1983 Act that created the Board of Education of Seminole County. Currently board elections can be tied to political parties. The bill changes that so all elections for board members held after August 1, 2025 will be nonpartisan elections, meaning candidates will not run under a party label, following the process laid out in Georgia's election law (O.C.G.A. § 21-2-139). The bill does not remove any current board member early. Members already serving will finish out their existing terms and can run again if they choose. It sets a schedule for upcoming elections: board members from districts one, three, and five will be elected at the nonpartisan general election in 2026, and members from districts two and four at the nonpartisan general election in 2028. After that, each seat's successor will be elected at the nonpartisan election in the year that seat's term expires. Elected members take office the following January 1 and serve four-year terms.

• Converts all future elections for the Seminole County Board of Education to nonpartisan elections after August 1, 2025.
• Protects current board members' terms, letting them serve out their existing terms and run again if they want.
• Sets 2026 as the year districts one, three, and five hold nonpartisan elections, and 2028 for districts two and four.
• Establishes that future successors are elected at the nonpartisan general election in the year each term expires.
• Confirms elected members take office on January 1 following the election and serve four-year terms.

Residents of Seminole County who vote in school board elections, candidates running for the Board of Education, and current board members whose terms and eligibility to run again are addressed directly by the bill.

Removing party labels from Seminole County school board races changes how voters choose candidates, shifting the focus away from party affiliation. The staggered 2026 and 2028 election schedule also sets clear timing for when specific district seats will next be contested.

• Section 1 rewrites Section 3 of the 1983 Act creating the Seminole County Board of Education to require nonpartisan elections after August 1, 2025, under O.C.G.A. § 21-2-139.
• Section 1(a) preserves the terms of sitting board members and allows them to run for reelection.
• Section 1(b) schedules elections for districts one, three, and five in 2026 and districts two and four in 2028, with future successors elected when each term expires.
• Section 1(c) sets a four-year term for board members, beginning the January 1 after election.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-05-13Effective Date
2. 2025-05-13Act 196
3. 2025-05-13House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-07House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-02-27Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-02-27Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
7. 2025-02-21Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2025-02-20House Passed/Adopted (House)

• Gerald Greene (R, HD-154)Primary sponsor

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 20, 2025

   138 yea, 29 nay (5 not voting, 8 excused)

   PASSAGE: House Vote #53

2. PassedSenate voteFebruary 27, 2025

   48 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 3 excused)

   LOCAL CONSENT CALENDAR: Senate Vote #98

• school board elections
• Seminole County
• nonpartisan elections
• local government
• education governance