Here’s what you need to know about the Republican, Democratic questions on 2024 Georgia general primary ballots

GEORGIA, USA — Georgia voters will head to the polls on May 21 to cast their ballots for the Peach State’s general primary. 

Voters have already cast their ballot for who they think should be on the presidential ballots in March, but now it’s time to choose for State and local governments. 

Both parties are asking for voters’ help on which candidates and issues should face up against their opponent party. 

Along with candidates, you’ll find several yes or no questions on your ballot. 

The questions are non-binding, meaning they do not result in any kind of law. Rather, it gives insight into each political party’s priorities and offers the opportunity to find out how much support the party has on each issue.

“They have no public policy impact,” said Dr. David Shock, political science professor at Kennesaw State University. “But, they have some function.”

Ban on assault weapons – Question 1

Question: Should the United States and the State of Georgia protect Georgians from gun violence by banning assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, closing background check loopholes, and passing other common-sense gun safety reforms?

What does this mean? While Georgia is a state strongly in support of the Second Amendment allowing no restrictions on the possession of legal firearms, the Democratic party is asking its voters whether they would be in favor of a ban on assault weapons. 

The Democratic party has often expressed its stance on combating gun violence in America, especially among youth; they believe by banning or strengthening restrictions on assault weapons, gun violence would inherently decrease.

Last year, Georgia passed the Second Amendment Preservation Act, which allows the state to defend the Second Amendment or the right to bear arms and uphold that within the Peach State. 

Combating climate change – Question 2

Question: Should the State of Georgia incentivize clean energy production as part of a climate policy that recognizes the urgent threat that climate change poses to Georgians’ health, lives and future?

What does this mean? This would give incentives for any clean energy production in the State of Georgia, which would help further the efforts on combating climate change. 

There have already been efforts started at the federal level to begin financing for clean energy production.

The Biden Administration approved climate legislation in 2022, which relied on tax credits and rebates. He also provided hundreds of billions of dollars in financial incentives to promote clean energy, according to an Associated Press report.

In 2023, President Biden made room in a proposed federal budget for clean energy development. 

Coming closer to home, Georgia lawmakers introduced the Clean Energy Act last year, but it did not advance very far. 

It would have restricted the sale of some fuels, adopted regulations on carbon emissions and required all electricity to be generated from clean energy sources. 

Same-day voter registration – Question 3

Question: Should the State of Georgia expand voter access by allowing same-day voter registration, removing obstacles to voting by mail, and making secure ballot drop boxes accessible at all times through Election Day?

What does this mean? According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, only 22 states participate in same-day voter registration, and Georgia is currently not one of them.

This question differs from the opposing Republican question, which concerns canceling automatic voter registration renewal and ensuring residents renew every four years.

Same-day voter registration would allow residents to vote and register on the same day, including Election Day. It would also include most of the early voting period. 

Some states have prohibited allowing residents to register and vote on Election Day, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.  

Reproductive freedom production – Question 4

Question: Should the State of Georgia protect reproductive freedom by repealing the current six-week abortion ban, restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade and ensuring access to contraceptives, IVF, abortion and other reproductive health care?

What does this mean? Georgia currently is a state that restricts abortion and bans it at the six-week term of a pregnancy. 

The law, which was signed back in 2019, did not go into effect until Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. Once the law was set to go into effect, a Fulton County judge ruled to overturn the state’s ban on abortion.

Georgia’s Supreme Court voted last year to reverse a decision that overturned the state’s abortion law.

Recently, a new Georgia bill would protect in vitro fertilization, or IVF, in light of an Alabama court ruling that banned it.

The bill addresses human embryos used for IVF – and says that an “embryo (that) exists outside of a uterus… shall not under any circumstances be considered an unborn child, a minor child (or) a natural person.”  State Rep. Teri Anulewicz (D-Smyrna) says because in vitro fertilization has broad support as a tool to build families, her bill should get backing from Republicans.

Voting on this question in the Georgia primary would not necessarily change the laws but would notify lawmakers within the party about what its voters think. 

Taxpayer money on private schools – Question 5

Question: Should the State of Georgia stop using taxpayer dollars intended for public education to pay for private school vouchers?

What does this mean? This past legislative session, Gov. Kemp signed an education bill that would fund scholarship accounts for families seeking a private school education. The bill would provide $6,500 in voucher funding for private school tuition and homeschooling. 

That money could be spent on private school tuition, homeschool supplies, therapy, tutoring, or even early college courses for high school students.

However, opponents argued that it would subtract resources from public schools, with school districts losing state aid as children depart, even as other students will remain behind.

Before the bill was signed into law, Georgia had already given vouchers for special education students in private schools and $120 million a year in income tax credits to donors for private school scholarship funds.

Raising state minimum wage – Question 6

Question: Should the State of Georgia raise the minimum wage to a living wage?

What does this mean? According to the Georgia Department of Labor, Georgia’s minimum wage is $5.15 per hour. While the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. 

In Georgia, some students, farmers and certain small business employees who are not covered by the federal minimum wage may earn the state minimum wage.

A bill was introduced in 2023 that called for raising the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour. However, the bill never advanced from the House of Representatives. 

Involuntary servitude of prisoners – Question 7

Question: Should the portion of the Georgia state constitution allowing for involuntary servitude of prisoners and others convicted of offenses be repealed, thus prohibiting all forms of slavery and involuntary servitude statewide?

What does this mean? The Georgia Constitution currently states, “There shall be no involuntary servitude within the State of Georgia except as a punishment for crime after legal conviction thereof or for contempt of court.” 

Currently, according to Georgia law, it is unlawful for any individual person to profit from inmate labor, resulting in free labor. Involuntary servitude is defined as a form of slavery that holds a person in mandatory labor against their will.

Georgia currently practices involuntary servitude only with inmates who have violated the law.

Affordable housing access – Question 8

Question: Should the State of Georgia improve access to safe, affordable housing by increasing the supply of affordable housing, protecting tenants’ rights to habitable living conditions, and cracking down on negligence or abuse by property management companies or landlords?

What does this mean? Many Georgia cities and counties are working to pass their own affordable housing efforts. 

This question asks if voters would want to expand access to affordable housing, protect renters’ rights, and crack down on negligence.

Specifically, in the City of Atlanta, there have been multiple initiatives to make housing affordable. 

The latest efforts in the city include opening several affordable housing options for the unhoused, including turning shipping containers into liveable homes. City officials also led efforts to invest in several initiatives. 

Officials have also led efforts to crack down on negligence after condemning the infamous Forest Cove Apartments for its “unliveable conditions.” Mayor Andre Dickens has explained efforts to crack down on other complexes that weren’t up to code. 

While it’s unclear what a statewide affordable housing initiative and crack-down would look like, state officials have introduced several bills on the topic that have not advanced. 

Hand-marked paper ballot scanner- Question 1

Question: For future elections, do you want hand-marked paper ballots scanned and verified by hand count on live stream video?

What does this mean? Although voters won’t necessarily be voting to change a law, this specific question could possibly be a move toward transparency in the state’s election process, with an emphasis on election security.

The question comes after a Georgia Republican lawmaker proposed a bill that specifically pertains to paper ballots and would require that they be scanned and displayed in the highest possible resolution allowed.

Despite it being more transparent, some lawmakers have previously voiced concerns about the broader issue of election security, particularly regarding the use of voting machines. 

Some lawmakers emphasized that while displaying ballot images could help voters understand the counting process, it does not address vulnerabilities posed by marked ballots and voting machines.

FairTax – Question 2

Question: Should the legislature enact the FairTax, replacing the state income tax and state sales tax with a consumption tax equal to current state funding and taxing no legal citizen or family up to the poverty level of spending? 

What does this mean? According to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, FairTax is a plan that would replace income tax and sales tax. Lawmakers have been considering the measure at the federal level since last year, but nothing has officially been made a law. 

The Senate Committee on Finance stated that Georgians would not pay state taxes in this case if a measure were approved on the federal fair tax. 

Although basic taxes would be eliminated, Georgians would still be subject to a tax. The committee document added that FairTax would only tax spending on new goods and services, not what is earned. 

According to a tax expert from a report from the North Carolina State University, the FairTax has some cons. The expert said that analysts predict that the plan would benefit wealthy individuals, with lower and middle-class individuals bearing the burden. 

Lobbyists serving on the Elections Board – Question 3

Question: Should the legislature ban registered lobbyists from serving on the State Elections Board?

What does this mean? This question is asking voters whether lobbyists should be allowed to serve on the state election board. 

For example, some lobbyists could serve on the board but could also lobby in other counties if they choose. 

All lobbyists must register with the State Ethics Commission, according to Georgia law. It is illegal to be a lobbyist without registering with the proper state agency. 

The State Election Board code of conduct currently does not ban lobbyists from becoming a member. 

Closed Primary election – Question 4

Question: Should the Georgia Republican Primary have a closed primary, meaning that only registered Republicans would be allowed to vote in the Republican Primary?

What does this mean? There is only one question Dr. Shock thinks may have some legs. A question on the Republican ballot asks whether Georgia should have a closed primary, meaning only registered Republicans could pick up a Republican ballot.

Closed primaries are often a response to crossover voting, like when a Democrat strategically votes in the Republican Primary for the weaker candidate. Limiting voting to people registered within the party would curtail this strategy.

“Democrats actually used this strategy successfully in Michigan in 2022, where they got Democrats to vote in the Republican primary for the weaker or more extreme candidates, so Republicans didn’t really like that,” Dr. Shock said. “I don’t know if it’s going to go anywhere.”

Illegal immigration – Question 5

Question: Should public officials who allow illegal migration to occur be held responsible for crimes committed by illegal aliens?

What does this mean? Gov. Kemp recently signed an immigration bill into law, but it does not include this specific language and will not penalize public officials for their views.

Kemp signed House Bill 1105 into law last week, which would require police and sheriff’s departments to identify undocumented immigrants who commit crimes and detain them for deportation by federal immigration authorities.

That bill was spearheaded through the Georgia legislature hastily after Laken Riley’s death near the University of Georgia’s campus, who was killed earlier this year. Police said that the man accused of killing her illegally entered the country. 

Gaming in Georgia – Question 6

Question: Would you support a statewide vote to allow gaming in Georgia so the voters can decide this issue instead of politicians in Atlanta?

What does this mean? This question pertains to sports betting and gambling in the Peach State. A bill and resolution from the state senate would have legalized it, but it failed after it did not pass the House floor on Crossover Day. 

Sports betting has a big hurdle to overcome because it’s a constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds vote. Though it passed in the Senate, the House has always been its biggest barrier.

Many Democrats want the proceeds from sports betting to fund school lunches or needs-based college scholarships. Lawmakers of both parties are wary of legalizing it because they’re concerned it would increase gambling addiction.  

Yet, backers say Georgians are gambling online anyway – while paying no taxes in Georgia.  

Voter registration renewal – Question 7

Question: Currently, hundreds of thousands of hours and dollars are spent every year cleaning up voter rolls. Would you support an amendment to the National Voting Rights Act that would require registered voters to renew their registration every four years?

What does this mean? Currently, the National Voting Rights Act does not provide specific guidance for renewing voter registration. It only states that when a person applies for, renews, or changes the address on their driver’s license, they can then apply to register to vote. 

This results in automatic renewals for voters instead, which has put almost all eligible citizens on the rolls unless residents otherwise opt out. 

A 2023 study by the Center for Election Innovation and Research found the share of active registered voters rose to 98% of the voting-eligible population in 2020 from 78% in 2016 when the state began registering people at driver’s license offices unless they specifically declined. The share dropped to 92% in 2022, which the center characterized as normal for a non-election year.

Recently, Georgia Republican lawmakers voted to advance a bill that would require people to opt into voter registration when they receive or renew a driver’s license

In 2023, the Secretary of State’s office decided to clean out the rolls for the 2024 election cycle. 

Those in support of voter purges say it is a good way to keep the list clean and know who may have died or even moved from the state. Supporters also claim the process protects against potential fraud.

Future Pandemic Management  – Question 8

Question: Do you believe unelected and unaccountable international bureaucrats, like the UN-controlled World Health Organization (WHO), should have complete control over the management of future pandemics in the United States and authority to regulate your healthcare and personal health choices?

What does this mean? When the COVID-19 pandemic happened in 2020, the crisis turned global, which led to the World Health Organization (WHO) having some control over what happened during the pandemic. 

States and local governments in the U.S. were able to choose when their residents would practice the social distancing lockdown.

During the pandemic and under the Trump Administration, the U.S. decided to withdraw from the WHO because “the World Health Organization has failed badly by those measures, not only in its response to COVID-19 but to other health crises in recent decades.” 

In March of this year, the WHO and several of its member states were negotiating a pandemic agreement to resolve their differences regarding how to prepare for and control pandemics in the future.

Depending on which county you live in – you may find some questions in addition to the eight statewide questions.

It’s important to know that these questions are non-binding, meaning your choice won’t immediately change the law. But they’re important because they allow the party to better understand what voters want.

You can look at your sample ballot on the Georgia Secretary of State’s My Voter Page.