Georgia Legislative Watch

Secretary of State Karen Handel is praising the passage of two bills (HB 45 and SB 86) that would require proof of citizenship before voting in Georgia elections:

Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel today praised the Georgia House of Representatives for passing legislation that would require voter registration applicants to provide proof of their United States citizenship.

House Bill 45, sponsored by Rep. James Mills (R-Gainesville), would require those registering to vote after January 1, 2010 to submit a copy of one of several forms of proof of U.S. citizenship with their application. These include a driver’s license, birth certificate, U.S. passport, U.S. naturalization documents or Bureau of Indian Affairs card. Any person who registered to vote prior to January 1, 2010 will not be required to submit evidence of citizenship, unless they update their voter registration from one county to another after that date.

“I want to thank Representative Mills for his leadership and for working with me on this common sense issue,” Secretary Handel said. “This law will strengthen and protect our elections process, and prevent non-citizens from registering to vote and casting a ballot in Georgia’s elections.”

On Tuesday, the Senate passed a companion bill, SB 86, sponsored by Sen. Cecil Staton (R-Macon).

In the 2008 general election, 230 Georgia residents cast a “challenged” ballot due to questions about their citizenship. These voters failed to return to their county registrar’s office with proper citizenship documentation before the election was certified.

SB 86 passed the Senate yesterday, HB 45 cleared the House today.