Georgia Amendment 2, Mandatory Sentences and Restrictions on Pardons and Paroles Amendment (1994)

Georgia Amendment 2
Election date November 8, 1994
Topic Criminal sentencing
Status Approved
Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

Georgia Amendment 2 was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in Georgia on November 8, 1994. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported allowing the general assembly to provide for mandatory minimum sentences for certain crimes, restricting pardons and paroles, and providing exceptions for the innocent or elderly.

A "no" vote opposed allowing the general assembly to provide for mandatory minimum sentences for certain crimes, restricting pardons and paroles, and providing exceptions for the innocent or elderly.

Election results

Georgia Amendment 2
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		1,088,682	81.30%
No		250,358	18.70%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Amendment 2 was as follows:

“

Shall the Constitution be amended so as to provide that the General Assembly may by general law approved by two-thirds of the members thereof provide for mandatory service of sentences for persons convicted of armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy, or aggravated sexual battery and, when so provided by such Act, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles shall not have the authority to consider such persons for pardon, parole, or commutation during that portion of the sentence; to provide that the General Assembly in the same manner may provide for the imposition of sentences of life without parole for persons convicted of murder and for persons who have been previously convicted of murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy, or aggravated sexual battery and who subsequently commit and are convicted of one of such offenses and to prohibit such board from granting a pardon, parole, or commutation in such cases; to provide for the ratification and approval of previously enacted laws providing for limitations on suspension, probation, or parole in certain cases; and to provide exceptions with respect to a person convicted of a crime who is subsequently determined to have no connection to said crime or is determined to be medically incapacitated and to provide an exception with respect to certain elderly persons?

”

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Georgia Constitution

A two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required during one legislative session for the Georgia State Legislature to place an amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 120 votes in the Georgia House of Representatives and 38 votes in the Georgia State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

See also

1994 Measures

• 1994 Measures
• Criminal sentencing on the ballot
• 1994 legislative sessions

Georgia

• Georgia ballot measures
• Georgia ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls