HB 851: Athens-Clarke County; Board of Elections and Registration; provide for abolition on a date certain

The Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections and Registration was created by a 1993 local act of the Georgia General Assembly. This bill amends that 1993 act to add a new section setting a specific end date for the board. Under the bill, the board would be abolished on June 30, 2025. After that date, unless a separate local law says otherwise, the roles of election superintendent and board of registrars for Athens-Clarke County would be filled according to Georgia's general election laws rather than the local board structure created in 1993. The bill also repeals any existing laws that conflict with this change.

• Adds a new section to the 1993 local act creating the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections and Registration.
• Sets June 30, 2025 as the date on which the board is abolished.
• Directs that, absent a different local law, the election superintendent and board of registrars for Athens-Clarke County be determined under Georgia's general election law.
• Repeals any existing laws or parts of laws that conflict with this change.

Athens-Clarke County voters and residents, the current members of the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections and Registration, county election officials, and anyone involved in administering elections and voter registration in Athens-Clarke County.

If enacted, Athens-Clarke County would lose the specific elections board structure it has used since 1993 and instead rely on general state law to determine who runs local elections and voter registration, which could change who holds those roles and how they are chosen.

• Section 1 adds new Section 11.1 to the 1993 act, stating the board is abolished on June 30, 2025.
• Section 1 also specifies that, absent a separate local law, the county's election superintendent and board of registrars will be set according to general state election law after abolition.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-03-31House Withdrawn, Recommitted (Cámara de Representantes)
2. 2025-03-31House Committee Favorably Reported (Cámara de Representantes)
3. 2025-03-31House Withdrawn, Recommitted (Cámara de Representantes)
4. 2025-03-31House Committee Favorably Reported (Cámara de Representantes)
5. 2025-03-27House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
6. 2025-03-25House First Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
7. 2025-03-25House Hopper (Cámara de Representantes)

• Houston Gaines (R, HD-120)Patrocinador principal
• Marcus Wiedower (R, HD-121)
• Trey Rhodes (R, HD-124)

• election administration
• Athens-Clarke County
• local government
• voter registration