Georgia 2020 ballot measures

Elections in Georgia, 2020

• Election date: Nov. 3
• Registration deadline(s): Oct. 5
• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: No
• Recount laws

• Early voting starts: Oct. 12
• Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Nov. 3 (received)
• Processing, counting, and challenging absentee/mail-in ballots
• Voter ID: Photo ID
• Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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2020 Georgia Ballot Measures
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Three statewide ballot measures were certified to appear on the Georgia ballot in 2020. All were approved.

HIGHLIGHTS

The state legislature referred two constitutional amendments to the ballot. One concerned the dedication of revenue from taxes and fees. The other amended the constitution to allow residents to seek declaratory relief from state or local laws that violate the U.S. Constitution, state Constitution, or state law.

The state legislature referred one measure concerning a property tax exemption for property owned by charities for the purpose of building or repairing single-family homes.

From 1996 to 2018, 81 measures have been on the ballot in Georgia, of which, 84% (68 of 81) were approved and 16% (13 of 81) were defeated.

On the ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRCA	Amendment 1	Taxes	Authorizes the Georgia Legislature to dedicate tax or fee revenue to the public purpose for which the taxes or fees were imposed	a
LRCA	Amendment 2	Administration of government	Allows residents to seek declaratory relief from state or local laws that violate the state Constitution or state law	a
LRSS	Referendum A	Taxes	Exempts from property taxes property owned by a 501(c)(3) public charity if the property is owned exclusively for the purpose of building or repairing single-family homes and the charity provides interest-free financing to the individual(s) purchasing the home	a

Getting measures on the ballot

As of 2020, Georgia did not allow any form of citizen-initiated ballot measures, so all ballot measures must be referred by the Georgia Legislature. The legislature can put a proposed amendment on the ballot upon a two-thirds majority vote in both the legislative chambers. The legislature can repeal a vote to put a proposed amendment on the ballot with a two-thirds vote of both chambers when the vote is done at least two months prior to the election. Constitutional amendments must be approved by a majority of the electorate.

Referral of 2020 measures

The following table illustrates the vote requirements for the constitutional amendment certified for the ballot, the votes the amendment received, and how Democrats and Republicans voted on the amendment in each legislative chamber:

Georgia Property Tax Exemption for Certain Charities Measure				Democrats	Republicans
Senate:	Required: 38	Yes votes: 54 (96.4%)	No votes: 0 (0.00%)	Yes: 21; No: 0	Yes: 33; No: 0
House:	Required: 120	Yes votes: 164 (92.13%)	No votes: 1 (0.56%)	Yes: 69; No: 0	Yes: 95; No: 1

Historical facts

See also: List of Georgia ballot measures and History of Initiative & Referendum in Georgia

• A total of 69 measures appeared on statewide ballots in Georgia from 1998 to 2018 during even-numbered election years.
• From 1998 through 2018, the number of measures on statewide ballots during even-numbered years ranged from two to 11.
• From 1998 through 2018, an average of six measures appeared on the ballot in Georgia during even-numbered election years.
• Between 1998 and 2018, 82.61% (57 of 69) of the total number of measures that appeared on statewide ballots during even-numbered years were approved, and about 17.39% (12 of 69) were defeated.

Local ballot measures

See also: November 3, 2020 ballot measures in Georgia

In 2020, Ballotpedia covered local measures that appeared on the ballot for voters within the top 100 largest cities in the U.S. and a selection of notable police-related and election-related measures outside of the top 100 largest cities. Ballotpedia also covered all local measures in California and all statewide ballot measures. Click here to see the scope of Ballotpedia local ballot measure coverage by year.

Click here for more information about local ballot measures on the November 2020 ballot in Georgia.

Not on the ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Status
LRCA	Allow Local Property Tax Referendums for Education Funding Amendment (HR 962)	Taxes, Education, and Direct democracy measures	Allows the legislature to provide for local referendums to assess school district taxes at 20% of a property's fair market value
LRCA	Authorize Debt for Airport Improvement Projects Amendment (SR 885)	State gov't finance	Allows the state to incur debt in order to fund grants and loans to local governments/authorities that own airports for development, expansion, and improvements of airports
AQ	Daylight Saving Time Nonbinding Advisory Question	Time standards	Nonbinding advisory question concerning daylight saving time

State profile

Demographic data for Georgia
	Georgia	U.S.
Total population:	10,199,398	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	57,513	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	60.2%	73.6%
Black/African American:	30.9%	12.6%
Asian:	3.6%	5.1%
Native American:	0.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.1%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	9.1%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	85.4%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	28.8%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$49,620	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	21.1%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Georgia. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Georgia

Georgia voted Republican in six out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in Georgia, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Georgia had five Retained Pivot Counties, 2.76 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More Georgia coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Georgia
• United States congressional delegations from Georgia
• Public policy in Georgia
• Endorsers in Georgia
• Georgia fact checks
• More...

See also

• 2020 ballot measures
• List of Georgia ballot measures
• History of Initiative & Referendum in Georgia
• Campaign finance requirements for Georgia ballot measures

External links

• Georgia Secretary of State