--- title: HB 851. Athens-Clarke County; Board of Elections and Registration; provide for abolition on a date certain collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb851 cite_as: HB 851, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb851 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb851.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb851/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71653 date: 2025-03-31 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 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/hb850.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb852.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 341 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb851.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 851 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-03-25 last_action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted sponsors: - Houston Gaines - Marcus Wiedower - Trey Rhodes text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB851/2025 upstream_id: 2014725 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - election administration - Athens-Clarke County - voter registration - local government --- # HB 851. Athens-Clarke County; Board of Elections and Registration; provide for abolition on a date certain ## Text 25 LC 47 3434 House Bill 851 By: Representatives Gaines of the 120th, Wiedower of the 121st, and Rhodes of the 124th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend an Act to create the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections and Registration,1 approved April 5, 1993 (Ga. L. 1993, p. 4631), as amended, so as to provide for abolition of2 the board on a date certain; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for3 other purposes.4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:5 SECTION 1.6 An Act to create the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections and Registration, approved7 April 5, 1993 (Ga. L. 1993, p. 4631), as amended, is amended by adding a new section to8 read as follows:9 "SECTION 11.1.10 The board established pursuant to this Act shall be abolished on June 30, 2025, and unless11 otherwise provided by local law, the election superintendent an d board of registrars for12 Athens-Clarke County shall be determined as provided by general law."13 H. B. 851 - 1 - 25 LC 47 3434 SECTION 2.14 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.15 H. B. 851 - 2 - ## 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. A House bill would abolish the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections and Registration on June 30, 2025, shifting local election administration to whatever officials general state law designates. ### Plain-language summary Athens-Clarke County currently has its own Board of Elections and Registration, created by a 1993 local law, which runs elections and voter registration in the county. This bill would add a new section to that 1993 law setting a firm end date for the board. Under the bill, the board would be abolished on June 30, 2025. Unless a separate local law says otherwise, the county's election superintendent and board of registrars would then be whoever general Georgia law designates for counties without a special local election board. The bill also repeals any laws that conflict with this change. ### What it does - Adds a new section to the 1993 Athens-Clarke County election law setting June 30, 2025 as the date the county's Board of Elections and Registration is abolished. - Provides that after abolition, the county's election superintendent and board of registrars default to whatever general Georgia law provides, unless a new local law sets different arrangements. - Repeals any existing state or local laws that conflict with this change. ### Who it affects Athens-Clarke County voters and election administrators are affected, since the county's dedicated election board would cease to exist and be replaced by whatever officials general state law assigns to run elections and registration. ### Why it matters If enacted, Athens-Clarke County would lose its locally created election board and instead rely on the general statewide structure for election superintendents and registrars, changing who oversees local voting and voter registration processes. ### Key provisions - Section 1 adds new Section 11.1 to the 1993 Act, abolishing the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections and Registration on June 30, 2025. - Section 1 also specifies that, absent a new local law, the county's election superintendent and board of registrars will be determined by general law after abolition. - Section 2 repeals all laws and parts of laws that conflict with the bill. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-03-25) - Last action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted (2025-03-31) - Sponsors: Houston Gaines, Marcus Wiedower, Trey Rhodes - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71653 > The history, votes, and amendments (341 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb851.md?full=1