HB1510: HB1510 Elections; judicially incompetent persons; restrict voting rights

Georgia law already limits voter registration for people convicted of felonies involving moral turpitude and for people found mentally incompetent by a court. This bill rewrites that section of law (O.C.G.A. § 21-2-216) to restate the rule that a person who has been judicially determined to be mentally incompetent cannot register, stay registered, or vote unless a court removes that disability, alongside the existing felony rule. The change would not take effect on its own. It is written to become law on January 1, 2027, only if Georgia voters approve a separate constitutional amendment in the November 2026 general election that removes felony convictions involving moral turpitude as a reason to bar someone from voting. If that constitutional amendment fails, this bill automatically repeals itself on January 1, 2027 and never takes effect.

• Rewrites part of Georgia's voter qualification law (O.C.G.A. § 21-2-216) to restate that judicially declared mentally incompetent people cannot register, stay registered, or vote.
• Keeps the disqualification in place unless a court later removes the incompetency finding, allowing the person to register or vote again.
• Makes the entire bill's effective date conditional on voters approving a separate constitutional amendment removing the felony voting exception in November 2026.
• Automatically repeals the whole bill by operation of law on January 1, 2027 if that constitutional amendment does not pass.
• Repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this change.

People who have been found mentally incompetent by a court, election officials and registrars who process voter registrations, and Georgia voters generally, since the bill's fate is tied to a statewide constitutional amendment vote in November 2026.

If both this bill and the related constitutional amendment take effect, Georgians under a court finding of mental incompetency would remain barred from voting unless a judge lifts that finding, while the state's separate felony voting restriction would be constitutionally changed at the same time.

• Section 1 revises subsection (b) of O.C.G.A. § 21-2-216 to bar registration or voting by anyone judicially determined to be mentally incompetent, unless the disability is later removed.
• Section 1 also keeps the existing rule barring people convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude from voting until their sentence is completed.
• Section 2 makes the entire Act effective January 1, 2027 only if voters ratify a constitutional amendment in November 2026 removing the felony exception from the right to vote.
• Section 2 also provides that if voters do not ratify that amendment, this Act is automatically repealed by operation of law on January 1, 2027.
• Section 3 repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this Act.

1. 2026-03-09House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-03-06House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-03-04House Hopper (House)

• El-Mahdi Holly (D, HD-116)Primary sponsor
• Solomon Adesanya (D, HD-043)
• Dewey McClain (D, HD-109)
• Eric Bell (D, HD-075)
• Bryce Berry (D, HD-056)

• voting rights
• election law
• mental incompetency
• felon voting rights
• constitutional amendment