Georgia Civics: How Your State Government Works

by bam

A practical, non-partisan guide to how the state of Georgia governs itself, and how you take part where you live. You'll learn Georgia's 1983 constitution (the most recent of the state's several constitutions) and why Georgia has NO citizen initiative: constitutional amendments are proposed by the General Assembly (a two-thirds vote of each house) and then ratified by voters. You'll learn the three state branches: a plural executive of separately-elected constitutional officers (the Lieutenant Governor is elected on their own, not on a ticket with the Governor, and presides over the Senate), plus the Attorney General, Secretary of State, and several commissioners; the 236-seat General Assembly (a 180-member House and a 56-member Senate); and the courts (a 9-justice Supreme Court and a 15-judge Court of Appeals whose members are chosen in NONPARTISAN statewide elections). You'll learn how a bill becomes a Georgia law (including the Governor's veto and the two-thirds override) and Georgia's local government: 159 counties (the SECOND-MOST of any state, after Texas), home rule, consolidated city-county governments like Athens-Clarke and Columbus-Muscogee, and NO townships. Finally you'll learn Georgia's distinctive elections rules: photo ID, in-person early voting, no-excuse absentee-by-mail (with the recent SB 202 changes), and the MAJORITY-VOTE RUNOFF system that sends the top two to a second election when no one wins outright, before a lesson on how to get involved. Cited to Georgia's own official sources (legis.ga.gov, sos.ga.gov, gasupreme.us / georgiacourts.gov, and the 1983 Constitution). Because state facts vary and change, the course flags time-sensitive items (like the recent SB 202 election-law changes and current ID/deadline rules) and points you to Georgia's own sources to confirm the current rule.