---
title: SB 422. Elections and Primaries; the date of most municipal elections shall be in even-numbered years; a one-year extension to the terms of office of most municipal officers; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb422
cite_as: SB 422, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb422
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb422.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb422/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72393
date: 2026-02-04
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.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 199
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb422.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 422
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-01-27
last_action: Senate Read Second Time
sponsors:
  - Timothy Bearden
  - Sam Watson
  - Ricky Williams
  - Drew Echols
  - Billy Hickman
  - Marty Harbin
  - Brian Strickland
  - Matt Brass
  - Randy Robertson
  - Russ Goodman
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB422/2025
upstream_id: 2095228
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - municipal elections
  - election law
  - local government terms of office
  - election scheduling
---

# SB 422. Elections and Primaries; the date of most municipal elections shall be in even-numbered years; a one-year extension to the terms of office of most municipal officers; provide

## Text

Senate Bill 422
By: Senators Bearden of the 30th, Watson of the 11th, Williams of the 25th, Echols of the
49th, Hickman of the 4th 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 provide that the date of most municipal elections
shall be in even-numbered years; to provide a one-year extension to the terms of office of
most municipal officers for the transition of municipalities to even-numbered year election
cycles; to provide that such extended terms of office shall not apply to certain municipal
officers elected to two-year terms of office; 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 21-2-9, relating to date of election for
offices, by revising subsection (c) as follows:
"(c) <ins>Except as provided for in Code Section 21-2-541.2, all</ins> <del>All</del> general municipal elections
to fill municipal offices <ins>conducted after December 31, 2026,</ins> shall be held on the Tuesday
next following the first Monday in November in each <del>odd-numbered</del> <ins>even-numbered</ins> year.
Public notice of such elections shall be published by the governing authority of the
municipality in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality at least 30 days prior
to the elections. In addition, the municipality shall immediately transmit a copy of such
notice to the Secretary of State. <ins>Notwithstanding any provisions of any local law to the
contrary, any municipal officer in office on December 31, 2026, shall have their term of
office extended for an additional year so as to transition municipal elections from
odd-numbered to even-numbered years; provided, however, that such extended term shall
not apply to those municipal officers elected to two-year terms of office in municipalities
that also have staggered terms of office pursuant to Code Section 21-2-541.2."
</ins> SECTION 2.
Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 21-2-150, relating to date of
general primary, as follows:
"21-2-150.
Whenever any political party holds a primary to nominate candidates for public offices to
be filled in the ensuing November election, such primary shall be held on the Tuesday of
the twenty-fourth week prior to the November general election in each even-numbered year
<del>or, in the case of municipalities, on the third Tuesday in July in each odd-numbered year."
</del> SECTION 3.
Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 21-2-541.2, relating to providing
by local law for terms of office, as follows:
"21-2-541.2.
Notwithstanding Code Section 1-3-11 or any other provision of this chapter, the General
Assembly is authorized to provide by local law:
(1) For terms of two years for municipal offices, with the local law designating the
offices to be elected and the time periods covered by such terms for each office;
(2) For municipal offices to change from concurrent terms to staggered terms or from
staggered terms to concurrent terms, with the local law designating the terms for each
office;
(3) For such terms to be staggered terms, with the local law designating the terms for
each office;
(4) For general municipal elections to fill such offices to be held on the Tuesday next
following the first Monday in November in even-numbered years and on such day
biennially thereafter and on the Tuesday next following the first Monday in November
in odd-numbered years and on such day biennially thereafter;
(5) For municipal offices elected pursuant to a prior local law authorized by this Code
section to change to terms of office of four years, with the local law designating the
offices to be elected and the time periods covered by such terms for each office;
(6) For general municipal elections to fill such offices to be held on the Tuesday next
following the first Monday in November in any year during the first six years
immediately following the enactment of a local law pursuant to this Code section as
necessary for the purpose of changing the election and terms of any such municipal
offices to conform to this Code section;
(7) For initial terms of one, two, three, or four years as necessary to change the terms of
such offices to four-year concurrent or staggered terms of office; and
(8) Except as authorized in paragraph (6) of this Code section, for general municipal
elections to be held on the Tuesday next following the first Monday in November of any
<del>odd-numbered</del> <ins>even-numbered</ins> year."
SECTION 4.
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.

Senate Bill 422 would move most Georgia municipal elections from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years starting after 2026, giving many current city officeholders an extra year in office to make the switch.

### Plain-language summary

Right now, most Georgia municipal elections are held in odd-numbered years, separate from the even-numbered-year cycle used for state and federal races. This bill amends Georgia's election code (O.C.G.A. Title 21, Chapter 2) so that, starting with elections held after December 31, 2026, general municipal elections would instead be held in even-numbered years, aligning them with state and federal election cycles.
To make that transition work, any municipal officer in office on December 31, 2026 would have their current term extended by one extra year. That extension would not apply to municipal officers who serve two-year terms in cities that already use staggered terms under a specific local-law provision (O.C.G.A. § 21-2-541.2). The bill also updates the primary election date rules and the local-law provisions governing municipal terms of office to match the new even-numbered-year schedule, and it repeals conflicting laws.

### What it does

- Changes the default date for general municipal elections in Georgia from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years, effective for elections held after December 31, 2026.
- Extends the term of any municipal officer in office on December 31, 2026 by one additional year to ease the transition to the new election schedule.
- Exempts municipal officers serving two-year terms in cities with staggered terms under O.C.G.A. § 21-2-541.2 from receiving the one-year term extension.
- Removes the option for municipal primaries to be held on the third Tuesday in July of odd-numbered years, aligning municipal primary timing with the even-numbered-year cycle.
- Updates the local-law authorization in O.C.G.A. § 21-2-541.2 so that general municipal elections created by local law are held in even-numbered rather than odd-numbered years.

### Who it affects

Sitting municipal officials such as mayors and city council members across Georgia, city governments that must update election schedules and notices, county and municipal election officials, political parties running municipal primaries, and voters in municipalities who will see elections shift to even-numbered years.

### Why it matters

Voters would likely see municipal races on the same ballot as state and federal contests instead of in separate off-year elections, which could change turnout patterns. Many sitting officials would serve an extra year before facing re-election, delaying when voters get to weigh in on their performance.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 21-2-9(c) so general municipal elections held after December 31, 2026 occur in even-numbered years instead of odd-numbered years.
- Section 1 grants a one-year extension to municipal officers in office on December 31, 2026, except those on two-year terms in cities with staggered terms under § 21-2-541.2.
- Section 1 requires 30 days' public notice of municipal elections in a local newspaper and notice to the Secretary of State, continuing existing practice.
- Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 21-2-150 to remove the option for municipal primaries in odd-numbered years, aligning them with the even-numbered-year general primary schedule.
- Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 21-2-541.2 so local laws governing municipal election dates use even-numbered years instead of odd-numbered years as the default.
- Section 4 repeals all laws in conflict with the Act.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2026-01-27)
- Last action: Senate Read Second Time (2026-02-04)
- Sponsors: Timothy Bearden, Sam Watson, Ricky Williams, Drew Echols, Billy Hickman, Marty Harbin, Brian Strickland, Matt Brass, Randy Robertson, Russ Goodman
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72393

> The history, votes, and amendments (199 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb422.md?full=1