Georgia 2022 ballot measures

Elections in Georgia, 2022

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State Ballot Measure Monthly
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Four statewide ballot measures were certified to appear on the ballot in Georgia. All were approved.

HIGHLIGHTS

The Georgia State Legislature referred two constitutional amendments to the ballot, which were both approved by voters:

• an amendment to suspend pay for certain public officials if they are suspended from office for being indicted for a felony and
• an amendment to allow local governments to grant temporary tax relief to certain properties that are damaged or destroyed due to a disaster.

The legislature also passed and the governor signed two measures to create or expand tax exemptions, which requires voter approval according to the state constitution and that were also approved by voters:

• one for merged family-owned farms, with expansion to include dairy products and eggs, and
• one for timber equipment.

On the ballot

Type	Title	Description	Result	Yes Votes	No Votes
LRCA	Amendment 1	Suspend compensation for public officials while the individual is suspended from office for a felony indictment	a	3,375,437 (88%)	439,514 (12%)
LRCA	Amendment 2	Authorize local governments to grant tax relief to properties that are damaged due to a disaster and located within a declared disaster area	a	352,212 (53%)	313,308 (47%)
LRSS	Referendum A	Exempt timber equipment owned by a timber producer from property taxes	a	2,222,571 (59%)	1,544,431 (41%)
LRSS	Referendum B	Expand agricultural equipment tax exemption and produce to include those owned by merged family farms	a	2,885,541 (76%)	888,336 (24%)

Political party advisory questions

See also: Georgia Political Party Advisory Questions (May 2022)

The Republican Party and Democratic Party placed nonbinding advisory questions on the May 24, 2022, statewide primary ballots. Republican ballots featured eight questions, and Democratic ballots featured nine questions.

Click here to read more about the nonbinding questions.

Referral of 2022 ballot measures

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

Georgia Timber Equipment Exempt from Property Taxes Measure				Democrats	Republicans
Senate:	Required: 38	Yes votes: 50 (89.29%)	No votes: 1 (1.79%)	Yes: 18; No: 0	Yes: 32; No: 1
House:	Required: 120	Yes votes: 171 (95.00%)	No votes: 0 (0.00%)	Yes: 74; No: 0	Yes: 97; No: 0

Potential measures

For 2022, measures that were certified for the ballot are available here, and measures that failed to make the ballot are available here.

Getting measures on the ballot

As of 2021, Georgia did not allow any form of citizen-initiated ballot measure, 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.

Historical facts

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

In Georgia, a total of 132 ballot measures appeared on statewide ballots between 1985 and 2020. Of that number, 105 ballot measures were approved, and 27 ballot measures were defeated.

Georgia statewide ballot measures, 1985-2020
Total number	Annual average	Annual minimum	Annual maximum	Approved		Defeated
				#	%	#	%
132	3.16	0	11	105	79.55	27	20.45

Local ballot measures

See also: Georgia 2022 local ballot measures

Click here to read more about 2022 local ballot measures in Georgia.

Not on the ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Status
LRCA	Sports Betting Legalization Amendment	Gambling	Amends the state constitution to provide for sports betting in Georgia
LRCA	Local Government Temporary Loans Payed in Full Amendment	Budgets	Changes the requirement that local governments pay temporary loans in full by the end of the calendar year to within 12 months
LRCA	Establish Four-Year Terms for State Senators Amendment	State legislature measures	Increases the term of a state senator from two to four years beginning in January 2025
LRCA	Timber Property Tax Rate Reduction Amendment	Taxes and natural resources	Reduces the property tax rate for timber
LRCA	Set Salaries of State Legislators Amendment	Govt salaries	Sets the salaries of state legislators to be 60% of the median income in the state and allows for supplements for legislative officers
LRSS	Agricultural Aircraft Exempt from Property Taxes Measure	Taxes	Exempts agricultural aircraft used exclusively for aerial application from ad valorem property taxes

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

• 2022 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