The following is republished with permission from the Oconee County Observation blog:
By Lee Becker
Rep. Houston Gaines and Rep. Marcus Wiedower, both Republicans, want to change the make up of the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections and Registration by restricting appointment of the three nonpartisan members of the Board to those nominated by Superior Court judges.
The composition of the Board of Elections and Registration is controlled both in Athens-Clarke and in Oconee by local legislation, that is, legislation passed by the Georgia General Assembly but applicable only to a local governing body.
Gaines, from House District 120, and Wiedower, from House District 121, were joined by Trey Rhodes, also a Republican, from House District 124, in introducing local legislation on March 25 to make the changes in how Election and Registration Board members in Athens-Clarke County are selected.
Gaines represents one of Oconee County’s four precincts, while Wiedower represents the other three. Rhodes, along with Gaines, Wiedower, and Spencer Frye, represent parts of Athens Clarke County. Frye, a Democrat, is not a sponsor of the legislation introduced by Gaines, Wiedower, and Rhodes.
Local Legislation usually passes on the Local Consent Calendar in the final days of the General Assembly, which are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of this week.
Local Legislation
Generally, local legislation is requested of the legislators by a local government.
For example, the Oconee County Board of Education last Marchasked Wiedower to introduce legislation to change how Board vacancies are filled and to allow the School Board to elect its own chair.
Voters approved those changes via a referendum on the November ballot.
In an email message I sent on Sunday (March 30) morning to Gaines, I noted that “Usually local legislation is the result of a request from the local government” and asked “Can you tell me about the origins of these bills?”
I have not heard from Gaines.
I also asked Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz the same question. I also have not heard from him.
Given that the legislation takes power away from the Commission, which, in the unified government of Athens-Clarke County Girth chairs, it is unlikely the proposed legislation introduced by Gaines, Wiedower, and Rhodes resulted from a request by Girtz or the Commission.
Two Bills
House Bill 851 states that the 1993 local legislation creating the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections and Registration is to be amended by adding a new Section 11.1 that states that “The board established pursuant to this Act shall be abolished on June 30, 2025.”
House Bill 852 states that, as of July 1, 2025, “the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections and Registration shall be reconstituted and reestablished” as “a successor to the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections and Registration” created in 1993.
The new Board is to be composed of five members, each an elector (voter) and resident of Clarke County, according to the proposed legislation.
One member is to be appointed by “the governing authority of Athens-Clarke County from nominations made by the county executive committee of the political party whose candidates at the last preceding general election held for the election of all members of the General Assembly received the largest number of votes in Athens-Clarke County for members of the General Assembly.”
Another member is to be from the political party whose candidates “received the second largest number of such votes.”
The legislation states that “three members shall be appointed by the governing authority of Athens-Clarke County from lists of nominees compiled by each judge of the judicial circuit which includes Athens-Clarke County.
“Each such judge shall nominate two individuals to said governing authority, and a majority of such governing authority shall appoint board members nominated by such judges. Such members shall be appointed without regard to political affiliation.”
The legislation does not specify how those judges are to obtain the names of the two persons to be nominated.
Nor does it specify which of the four judges in the Western Judicial Circuit Superior Court, Chief Judge Lisa Lott, Judge Eric Norris, Judge H. Patrick Haggard, and Judge Lawton Stephens, are to be involved in the nomination.
Voting In Clarke
In the last election for which members of the General Assembly were chosen, none of the Republican candidates for the four House seats and the two Senate seats in Clarke County received a majority of the votes.
Sen. Bill Cowsert (46th District) received 41.3 percent of the vote, and Frank Ginn (47th Senate District) received 30.3 percent of the vote.
Gaines received 45.5 percent of the vote, Wiedower received 35.3 percent of the vote, and Rhodes received 33.8 percent.
Frye ran unopposed and received 100 percent of the vote.
Of the 101,020 votes cast in those six races, Democrats received 70,387, or 69.7 percent, and Republicans 30,633, or 30.3 percent.
Because of the gerrymandering of the districts, Democrats hold only one of the six legislative seats (Frye in the 122nd) for the districts that include parts of Athens-Clarke County.
Local legislation generally is approved if a majority of the delegates from the county or district being served approve, making passage of House Bills 581 and 582 highly likely in the Republican controlled House and Senate.
Oconee County Comparison
Local legislation for Oconee County, passed by the Georgia General Assembly in 1998, specified that the Board of Elections and Registration of Oconee County “shall be composed of five members, each of whom shall be an elector and resident of the county.”
The Republican Party nominates for appointment one member of the Board, and the Democrats nominates for appointment another.
The Board of Commissioners appoints the other three and “one of such members shall be designated by the Board of Commissioners as the chairperson of the board,” the law reads.
Until 2022, the Board of Commissioners had appointed the Director of Elections and Registration as the chair of the Board of Elections and Registration.
Current Director of Elections and Registration Sharon Gregg, appointed that year, is not a resident of Oconee County.
Oconee Voting History
The voting history of Oconee County gives it protection from initiatives directed at its Board of Elections and Registration by its legislative delegation.
In the 2024 election, 54,123 votes were cast for Senate District 46 candidates, House District 120 candidates, and House District 121 candidates, with 73.8 percent of them for Republican candidates Cowsert, Gaines, and Wiedower. All of Oconee County is in Senate District 46.
Cowsert received 72.4 percent of the vote. Gaines received 73.4 percent. Wiedower received 74.0 percent.
The Oconee County Board of Elections and Registration is chaired by Jay Hanley, a former chair of the Oconee County Republican Party.
The other members appointed by the Board of Commissioners are Doug Hammond and Shami Jones. Jones served as Nominating Committee Chair for the Oconee County Republican Party for its most recent elections.
The Republican Party designated Board Member is Kirk Shook, and the Democratic Party designated Board Member is Ken Davis.