A proposal to amend the Georgia Constitution to address voter eligibility and voter identification failed to make its way out of the Senate chamber on Crossover Day on Friday.
Crossover Day is the last day a bill can make its way out of one chamber in order to be considered by the other chamber during the current legislative session.
Senate Resolution 838, donned the “State Assurance of Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Amendment,” would have placed a question on the ballot for voters and, if approved, amended the Georgia Constitution to address who is eligible to vote in Georgia elections and what ID they must present in order to do so.
The measure is sponsored by Senator Greg Dolezal and fifteen other sponsors.
Currently, the Georgia Constitution states:
Right to register and vote- Every person who is a citizen of the United States and a resident of Georgia as defined by law, who is at least 18 years of age and not disenfranchised by this article, and who meets minimum residency requirements as provided by law shall be entitled to vote at any election by the people.
The Resolution would have changed the language to read:
Right to register and vote- Only individuals who are citizens of the United States and residents of Georgia as defined by law, who are at least 18 years of age and not disenfranchised by this article, and who meet minimum residency requirements as provided by law shall be entitled to vote at any election by the people; provided, however, that registered electors must present photographic identification, the forms of which the General Assembly shall provide by law, prior to casting a ballot in any election.
The Resolution also includes ballot language for the statewide referendum:
Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to clarify that only citizens of the United States shall have a right to vote in elections in the State of Georgia and that voters must present a photo ID before casting a ballot?
Voters would answer YES or NO.
But Georgia lawmakers could not come to a consensus in the Senate on Friday and the Resolution failed in a vote of 32-23. Constitutional Amendments require 2/3 vote for passage and the bill failed due to votes along party lines.
Exceptions to the Crossover Day deadline can be made if a lawmaker strips the content from another bill that has made its way out of the respective chamber to replace it with their own language or adds the desired language to an unrelated bill, otherwise known as a ‘vehicle bill.’ This practice is more common as the 40th day of the legislative session approaches.
