--- title: HR 1585. Right to register and vote; moral turpitude felony conviction exception; provisions - CA collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr1585 cite_as: HR 1585, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1585 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1585.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1585/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73886 date: 2026-03-09 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 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/hr1584.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1586.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 132 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1585.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 1585 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-03-04 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - El-Mahdi Holly - Eric Bell - Solomon Adesanya - Dewey McClain - Bryce Berry - Akbar Ali text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR1585/2025 upstream_id: 2129472 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - voting rights - felony disenfranchisement - constitutional amendment - election rules --- # HR 1585. Right to register and vote; moral turpitude felony conviction exception; provisions - CA ## Text House Resolution 1585 By: Representatives Holly of the 116th, Bell of the 75th, Adesanya of the 43rd, McClain of the 109th, Berry of the 56th, and others A RESOLUTION Proposing an amendment to the Constitution so as to remove a conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude as an exception to the right to register and vote; to provide for related matters; to provide for the submission of this amendment for ratification or rejection; and for other purposes. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. Article II, Section I of the Constitution is amended by revising Paragraph III as follows: "Paragraph III. Exceptions to right to register and vote. (a) No person who has been convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude may register, remain registered, or vote except upon completion of the sentence. (b) No person who has been judicially determined to be mentally incompetent may register, remain registered, or vote unless the disability has been removed." SECTION 2. The above proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be published and submitted as provided in Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the Constitution. The ballot submitting the above proposed amendment shall have written or printed thereon the following: "( ) YES Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to remove a conviction ( ) NO of a felony involving moral turpitude as an exception to the right to register and vote?" All persons desiring to vote in favor of ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "Yes." All persons desiring to vote against ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "No." If such amendment shall be ratified as provided in said Paragraph of the Constitution, it shall become a part of the Constitution of this state. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House resolution would ask voters to remove the state constitution's rule that bars people convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude from registering or voting until they finish their sentence. ### Plain-language summary Georgia's constitution currently says that people convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude (a legal term for crimes seen as especially dishonest or immoral) cannot register, stay registered, or vote until they complete their sentence. This resolution proposes removing that exception entirely from the constitution. If approved by two-thirds of each chamber of the General Assembly, the proposed change would go to Georgia voters on a statewide ballot for ratification or rejection. The remaining exception, barring people judicially determined to be mentally incompetent from voting unless that disability is removed, would stay in place. If voters approve the amendment, it becomes part of the Georgia Constitution. ### What it does - Deletes the constitutional provision barring people convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude from registering or voting until their sentence is complete. - Leaves in place the separate exception barring people judicially determined mentally incompetent from voting unless that disability is removed. - Sends the proposed constitutional change to Georgia voters for ratification or rejection on a statewide ballot. - Specifies the exact ballot question voters would see, asking whether to remove the felony moral turpitude voting exception. ### Who it affects Georgians convicted of felonies involving moral turpitude who are currently barred from voting until their sentence is finished, county election officials who administer voter registration, and all Georgia voters, who would decide the amendment's fate at the ballot box. ### Why it matters If ratified, people convicted of felonies involving moral turpitude could register and vote without waiting to complete their sentence, changing who is eligible to participate in Georgia elections. The change would not take effect unless a majority of voters approve it in a statewide referendum. ### Key provisions - Section 1 amends Article II, Section I, Paragraph III of the Georgia Constitution by striking the felony moral turpitude voting exception while keeping the mental incompetency exception. - Section 2 requires the proposed amendment to be published and submitted to voters under Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the Constitution. - Section 2 sets the exact ballot language voters will see, framed as a yes or no question on removing the felony exception. - Section 2 specifies that if ratified by voters, the amendment becomes part of the Georgia Constitution. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2026-03-04) - Last action: House Second Readers (2026-03-09) - Sponsors: El-Mahdi Holly, Eric Bell, Solomon Adesanya, Dewey McClain, Bryce Berry, Akbar Ali - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73886 > The history, votes, and amendments (132 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1585.md?full=1