House Bill 200 was dropped in the Georgia General Assembly this week. If passed, it would allow municipalities in Georgia to employ Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) in their elections. The 2023 bill contains similar provisions to House Bill 1085 filed in the 2022 session.

Just over 4 pages, HB 200 devotes over half of that space to procedures and methodology for IRV implementation. Cities would need to pass an ordinance at least 180 days prior to an election where IRV would be used. The Secretary of State or the State Election Board would be charged with the responsibility of establishing rules for implementation. If passed, the effective date of HB 200 would be January 1, 2024.

Primary sponsor is Joseph Gullet (R-Dallas). Co-sponsors are: Stacey Evans (D-Atlanta), Victor Anderson (R-Cornelia), Clay Pirkle (R-Ashburn) and Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur).

Better Ballot Georgia salutes the sponsors of this bill. We believe that our City elections are an excellent place to introduce the next use of Instant Runoff Voting in the state. As these races are mostly non-partisan, they often attract larger fields of candidates where the use of IRV can provide the greatest benefit. Next stop: Hearings before the House State and Local Government Committee.