Article Two of the Georgia State Constitution describes the process for voting and elections in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. This process includes the method of voting and the right to register and vote, general provisions and the suspension and removal of public officials.

Section I: Method of voting; right to register and vote

Section I of Article Two of the Georgia State Constitution is made up of three paragraphs which detail the method of

voting Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect holde ...

and the right to register and vote.Georgia State Constitution
Accessed April 3, 2009 The first paragraph of this section stipulates that all elections by the people will be through secret ballot and will follow legal procedures. Furthermore, in Paragraph II the age and residency of Georgians who are allowed to vote is described as well as the responsibility of the Georgia General Assembly to provide for the "registration of electors". The final paragraph deals with exceptions to the right to register and vote and states that no one who has been convicted of a felony, or anyone who has been determined, by the judiciary, to be "mentally incompetent", may register to vote.

Judicial relevance

In a 1988 case, '' Hammill v. Valentine'', was brought before the Glynn County

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

. In the case, the appellants alleged that voter rights had been violated and that illegal votes cast doubt on the election.HAMMILL et al. v. VALENTINE et al
, Accessed April 3, 2009 The Superior Court found that the appellants lacked standing to "complain about alleged violations of certain voters' constitutional rights".

Section II: General provisions

Five paragraphs make up Section II of Article Two and deal with various general provisions. These provisions include procedures provided by law by the General Assembly for the appeal of the right to vote (both to allow and refuse that right) and where returns on elections made by Georgians will be made to the Secretary of State;

run-off election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resu ...

s, and who can vote in a run-off election; persons not eligible to hold office; recall of elected public officials; and vacancies created by an elected official who qualifies for another office (

resign-to-run law A resign-to-run law is a law that requires the current holder of an office to resign from that office before they can run for another office. This is distinct from a dual mandate prohibition, where a person has to resign from their old office to ...

Section III: Suspension and removal of public officials

The final section of Article Two, Section III, deals with the suspension and removal of public officials and is made up of two paragraphs. The first paragraph details the procedures for suspending and removing an elected official who has been indicted for a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

. Paragraph II discusses suspension from office for any public official who has been convicted of a felony.

References

{{reflist Georgia (U.S. state) law Constitution of Georgia (U.S. state)