--- title: SB 363. Electors; restrictions of voting rights for judicially incompetent persons; provide collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sb363 cite_as: SB 363, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb363 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb363.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb363/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71729 date: 2025-03-28 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/sb362.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb364.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 95 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb363.md?full=1 bill_number: SB 363 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-03-27 last_action: Senate Read and Referred sponsors: - Josh McLaurin text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB363/2025 upstream_id: 2016097 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - voting rights - election law - felony disenfranchisement - mental competency - constitutional amendment --- # SB 363. Electors; restrictions of voting rights for judicially incompetent persons; provide ## Text 25 LC 48 1387 Senate Bill 363 By: Senator McLaurin of the 14th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Code Section 21-2-216 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to1 qualifications of electors generally, reregistration of electors purged from list, eligibility of2 nonresidents who vote in presidential elections, retention of q ualification for standing as3 elector, evidence of citizenship, and check of convicted felons and deceased persons4 databases, so as to provide restrictions of voting rights for judicially incompetent persons;5 to provide for related matters; to provide conditions for an ef fective date and automatic6 repeal; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.7 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:8 SECTION 1.9 Code Section 21-2-216 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to qualifications10 of electors generally, reregistration of electors purged from l ist, eligibility of nonresidents11 who vote in presidential elections, retention of qualification for standing as elector, evidence12 of citizenship, and check of convicted felons and deceased persons databases, is amended by13 revising subsection (b) as follows:14 "(b) In addition to the qualifications in subsection (a) of this Code section, no person who15 has been convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude may register, remain registered,16 S. B. 363 - 1 - 25 LC 48 1387 or vote except upon completion of the sentence and no person who has been judicially17 determined to be mentally incompetent may register, remain registered, or vote unless the18 disability has been removed."19 SECTION 2.20 This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2027, only if an amendment to the21 Constitution of Georgia is ratified at the November, 2026, gene ral election removing a22 conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude as an exception to the right to register and23 vote. If such an amendment to the Constitution is not so ratified, this Act shall not become24 effective and shall stand repealed by operation of law on January 1, 2027.25 SECTION 3.26 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.27 S. B. 363 - 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 Georgia Senate bill would rewrite part of the state's voter qualification law to spell out that people judicially declared mentally incompetent cannot register or vote unless that finding is later reversed, but the change would only take effect if voters approve a related constitutional amendment in November 2026. ### Plain-language summary Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 21-2-216) currently bars two groups from registering or voting: people convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude who haven't completed their sentence, and people a court has judicially determined to be mentally incompetent, unless that incompetence finding is removed. This bill rewrites subsection (b) of that law, restating both restrictions in updated language, with particular attention to the rule for judicially incompetent persons. The catch is timing. The bill would only take effect on January 1, 2027, and only if Georgia voters ratify a constitutional amendment at the November 2026 general election that removes a felony conviction as a separate constitutional bar to voting. If that constitutional amendment fails, this bill never takes effect and is automatically repealed on January 1, 2027. ### What it does - Rewrites subsection (b) of Georgia's voter qualification law (O.C.G.A. § 21-2-216) to restate the rules on who cannot register or vote. - Keeps in place the rule that a person judicially determined to be mentally incompetent cannot register, stay registered, or vote unless that incompetence finding is later removed. - Keeps in place the existing rule barring people convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude from voting until their sentence is completed. - Makes the entire bill's effectiveness conditional on voters approving a specific constitutional amendment about felony voting rights at the November 2026 election. - Automatically repeals the bill by operation of law on January 1, 2027 if that constitutional amendment does not pass. ### Who it affects The bill affects Georgia voters and prospective voters, specifically people who have been convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude and people who have been judicially declared mentally incompetent. It also affects county election officials who process voter registrations and check eligibility. ### Why it matters Whether this bill ever takes effect depends entirely on a separate statewide vote in November 2026 on removing felony convictions from the state constitution's voting restrictions. Georgians with felony convictions or judicial findings of incompetence would only see this specific statute change if that constitutional measure passes. ### Key provisions - Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 21-2-216(b) to restate that convicted felons cannot vote until their sentence is complete and that judicially incompetent persons cannot vote unless the incompetence finding is removed. - Section 2 makes the entire Act effective January 1, 2027 only if a constitutional amendment removing the felony voting exception is ratified in November 2026. - Section 2 also provides that if the constitutional amendment fails, the Act automatically repeals itself by operation of law on January 1, 2027. - Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-03-27) - Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-03-28) - Sponsors: Josh McLaurin - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71729 > The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb363.md?full=1