HB 852: Athens-Clarke County; Board of Elections and Registration; reconstitute and reestablish

This bill re-creates the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections and Registration as the successor to the board originally set up in 1993, giving it the combined powers of an election superintendent and a board of registrars under Georgia election law (O.C.G.A. Title 21). It spells out how the five board members are chosen: two nominated by the majority political party's county committee, two by the second-place party's committee, and one nonpartisan member, all appointed by the Athens-Clarke County governing authority. The bill also covers terms of office, removal for cause, filling vacancies, a full-time supervisor of elections appointed by the county manager, compensation paid from county funds, authority to contract with municipalities for elections, and rules for open meetings and informational spending. It takes effect only if a separate 2025 bill abolishing the prior 1993 board is also enacted; otherwise this Act is automatically repealed on July 1, 2025.

• Recreates the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections and Registration as the legal successor to the board created in 1993, taking over election and voter registration duties.
• Sets the board's membership at five people: two nominated by the leading party's county committee, two by the second-place party's committee, and one nonpartisan appointee.
• Establishes two-year terms for board members (one-year for the initial members), with removal only for cause after notice and a hearing.
• Creates a full-time supervisor of elections position, appointed and removed by the county manager, who runs day-to-day operations but is not a board member.
• Authorizes the board to contract with municipalities for running elections and to spend public funds distributing nonpartisan voter information.
• Makes the Act's effective date contingent on a separate 2025 bill abolishing the 1993 board; otherwise this Act repeals itself automatically on July 1, 2025.

Athens-Clarke County voters and election administrators, the county's political party committees that nominate board members, the Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County (which appoints and pays board members and staff), the county manager, and any municipalities within the county that might contract with the board for elections.

The bill determines who controls how elections and voter registration are run in Athens-Clarke County, including who sits on the oversight board, how they are chosen and removed, and who manages daily election operations, which affects how elections are administered and overseen locally.

• Section 1 reconstitutes the board effective July 1, 2025, as successor to the 1993 board, with combined powers of an election superintendent and board of registrars.
• Section 2 sets a five-member board: two nominated by the majority party, two by the second-place party, and one nonpartisan member appointed by the county governing authority.
• Section 4 sets a 90-day window for nominating replacements when a vacancy occurs and requires removal only for cause after notice and hearing.
• Section 8 creates a supervisor of elections and registration, appointed and removed by the county manager, who is not a board member but runs daily operations.
• Section 9 allows the board to contract with municipalities to run elections within their boundaries.
• Section 10 allows the board to spend public funds on voter information materials but bars any partisan commentary or opinion in that material.
• Section 12 requires monthly board meetings and compliance with Georgia's open meetings law (O.C.G.A. Title 50, Chapter 14).
• Section 16 makes the Act's effective date contingent on passage of a separate 2025 Act abolishing the 1993 board, with automatic repeal on July 1, 2025 if that does not happen.

1. 2025-03-31House Withdrawn, Recommitted (Cámara de Representantes)
2. 2025-03-31House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (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
• board of elections
• voter registration
• local government