GA Code § 45-2-1 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 45 - Public Officers and Employees|Chapter 2 - Eligibility and Qualifications for Office|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 45-2-1. Persons Ineligible to Hold Civil Office; Vacation of Office; Validity of Acts Performed While in Office

 The following persons are ineligible to hold any civil office; and the existence of any of the following facts shall be a sufficient reason for vacating any office held by such person; but the acts of such person, while holding a commission, shall be valid as the acts of an officer de facto, namely:    Persons who are not citizens of this state and persons under the age of 21 years; provided, however, that upon passage of appropriate local ordinances, citizens of this state who are otherwise qualified and who have attained 18 years of age shall be eligible to hold any county or municipal office, except such offices of a judicial nature. The residency requirement for a candidate for any county office, except offices of a judicial nature, shall be 12 months' residency within the county. The residency requirement for a candidate for any municipal office, except offices of a judicial nature, shall be 12 months' residency within the municipality; provided, however, that municipalities may by charter provide for lesser residency requirements for candidates for municipal office, except offices of a judicial nature. Notwithstanding anything in this paragraph to the contrary, the General Assembly may provide by local law for a period of district residency for candidates for any county or municipal governing authority or board of education who are elected from districts not to exceed 12 months' residency within the district from which each such candidate seeks election. Any local law previously enacted by the General Assembly providing for a period of district residency for candidates for county or municipal office which does not exceed 12 months shall be granted full force and effect;   All holders or receivers of public money of this state or any county, school district, or municipality thereof who have refused or failed when called upon after reasonable opportunity to account for and pay over the same to the proper officer;   Any person finally convicted and sentenced for any felony involving moral turpitude under the laws of this or any other state when the offense is also a felony in this state, unless restored to all his rights of citizenship by a pardon from the State Board of Pardons and Paroles;   Persons holding any office of profit or trust under the government of the United States other than that of postmaster and officers and enlisted men of the reserve components of the armed forces of the United States, or of either of the several states, or of any foreign state; provided, however, that without prejudice to his right to hold public office, any person may accept appointment to, and may receive his expenses and compensation arising from, membership upon any commission, board, panel, or other fact-finding or policy-making agency appointed by the President of the United States or other federal authority, where such appointment is of a temporary nature and the duties are not such as to interfere materially with the person's duties as a public officer. Acceptance of such an appointment and receipt of the emoluments therefrom shall not bar the right of any person to hold office in this state or to accede to a state office;   Persons of unsound mind and persons who, from advanced age or bodily infirmity, are unfit to discharge the duties of the office to which they are chosen or appointed;   Those persons who have not been inhabitants of the state, county, district, or circuit for the period required by the Constitution and laws of this state;   A person who has not been a bona fide citizen of the county in which that person shall be elected or appointed at least 12 months prior to that person's election or appointment and who is not a qualified voter entitled to vote; provided, however, that no prior state or county residency requirement shall be applicable to any appointed local superintendent of schools; or   All persons who are constitutionally disqualified for any cause. All officers are eligible for reelection and reappointment and to hold other offices, unless expressly declared to the contrary by the Constitution or laws of Georgia.    (Laws 1787, Cobb's 1851 Digest, p. 366; Laws 1823, Cobb's 1851 Digest, p. 209; Code 1863, § 125; Code 1868, § 120; Code 1873, § 129; Code 1882, § 129; Civil Code 1895, § 223; Ga. L. 1900, p. 42, § 1; Civil Code 1910, § 258; Ga. L. 1925, p. 77, § 1; Ga. L. 1931, p. 126, § 1; Code 1933, § 89-101; Ga. L. 1972, p. 868, § 1; Ga. L. 1976, p. 464, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1982, p. 3, § 45; Ga. L. 1987, p. 3, § 45; Ga. L. 1988, p. 930, § 1; Ga. L. 1989, p. 596, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1138, § 1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1279, § 15; Ga. L. 2016, p. 173, § 12/SB 199; Ga. L. 2016, p. 777, § 1/HB 73; Ga. L. 2017, p. 525, § 1/SB 258; Ga. L. 2018, p. 1112, § 45/SB 365.)    The 2016 amendments.  The first 2016 amendment, effective April 26, 2016, added the last two sentences in paragraph (1). The second 2016 amendment, effective May 3, 2016, made an identical change by adding the next to the last sentence in paragraph (1).    The 2017 amendment,  effective May 8, 2017, inserted ", school district, or municipality" near the middle of paragraph (2).    The 2018 amendment,  effective May 8, 2018, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, revised punctuation throughout paragraph (1).   Cross references.   - Persons not eligible to hold office, Ga. Const. 1983, Art. II, Sec. II, Para. III.   Vacancies created by elected officials qualifying for other office, Ga. Const. 1983, Art. II, Sec. II, Para. V.    Nature and effect of adjudication, § 15-11-72.    Certain county officials ineligible, § 15-12-21.    Eligibility of subversive persons to hold office or position in government, § 16-11-12.    Eligibility and qualifications of candidates for public office, §§ 21-2-5 through21-2-8.   Editor's notes.   - Ga. L. 1972, p. 193, § 10, not codified by the General Assembly, provided that it was the purpose of the Act to reduce the age of legal majority from 21 years to age 18 years of age so that all persons, upon reaching the age of 18 would have the rights, privileges, powers, duties, responsibilities, and liabilities, previously applicable to persons 21 years of age or over. The section further provided that the Act was not to be construed as having the effect of changing the provisions of any general law relative to the required age to qualify for holding public office.   Law reviews.   - For article on the effects of a conviction based on a nolo contendere plea on voting and holding public office, see 13 Ga. L. Rev. 723 (1979). For article surveying Georgia cases citing developments in Georgia local government law from mid-1980 through mid-1981, see 33 Mercer L. Rev. 187 (1981). For survey article on local government law for the period from June 1, 2002 to May 31, 2003, see 55 Mercer L. Rev. 353 (2003). For article, "Using Empirical Data to Investigate the Original Meaning of ‘Emolument' in the Constitution,” see 36 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 465 (2020). For comment criticizing Tarpley v. Carr, 204 Ga. 721, 51 S.E.2d 638 (1949), requiring de jure offices to exist before acts by de facto city officers can be validated, see 1 Mercer L. Rev. 120 (1949).   JUDICIAL DECISIONS   ANALYSIS    General Consideration   Holders of Public Funds   Felony Involving Moral Turpitude   Persons Holding Other Offices   Eligibility for County Offices    OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL   ANALYSIS    General Consideration   Person Charged With Crimes   Persons Holding Other Offices   Eligibility for County Offices    RESEARCH REFERENCES   Am. Jur. 2d.   - 63C Am. Jur. 2d, Public Officers and Employees, §§ 53 et seq., § 70 et seq.   20B Am. Jur. Pleading and Practice Forms, Public Officers and Employees, § 3.   C.J.S.   - 67 C.J.S., Officers and Public Employees, § 15-34 et seq.   ALR.    - Incompatibility of offices or positions in the military and in the civil service, 26 A.L.R. 142; 132 A.L.R. 254; 147 A.L.R. 1419; 148 A.L.R. 1399; 150 A.L.R. 1444.    Unfitness as affecting right to restoration by mandamus to office from which one has been illegally removed, 36 A.L.R. 508.    Payment of salary to de facto officer as defense to action or proceeding by de jure officer for salary, 55 A.L.R. 997; 64 A.L.R.2d 1375.    Officer holding over without authority after expiration of his term as a de facto officer, 71 A.L.R. 848.    Policemen as public officers, 84 A.L.R. 309; 156 A.L.R. 1356.    Time as of which eligibility or ineligibility to office is to be determined, 88 A.L.R. 812; 143 A.L.R. 1026.    Other public offices or employments within prohibition as regards judicial officers of constitutional or statutory provinces against holding more than one office, 89 A.L.R. 1113.    Right of de facto officer to salary or other compensation annexed to office, 93 A.L.R. 258; 151 A.L.R. 952.    Distinction between office and employment, 93 A.L.R. 333; 140 A.L.R. 1076.    De jure office as condition of a de facto officer, 99 A.L.R. 294.    Effect of election to or acceptance of one office by incumbent of another where both cannot be held by same person, 100 A.L.R. 1162.    Status as de jure public office of one appointed by a de facto office or body or by a body which included a de facto mem whose vote or consent was necessary to the appointment, 106 A.L.R. 1324.    Right of Civil Service Commission to prescribe maximum or minimum age requirements for candidates for positions or promotion in civil service, 122 A.L.R. 1452.    Presumption and burden of proof as to one's status as a de facto officer upon which validity or effect of his act depends, 161 A.L.R. 967.    Constitutionality of statute requiring, or limiting, selection or appointment of public officers or agents from members of a political party or parties, 170 A.L.R. 198.   Payment of salary to de facto officer as defense to action or proceeding by de jure officer for salary, 64 A.L.R.2d 1375.   What constitutes conviction within statutory constitutional provision making convicting of crime ground of disqualification for, removal from, or vacancy in, public office, 71 A.L.R.2d 593.   Incompatibility, under common-law doctrine, of office of state legislator and position or post in local political subdivision, 89 A.L.R.2d 632.   Effect of conviction under federal law, or law of another state or country, on right to vote or hold public office, 39 A.L.R.3d 303.   Removal of public officers for misconduct during previous term, 42 A.L.R.3d 691.   Pardon as restoring public office or license or eligibility therefor, 58 A.L.R.3d 1191.   Validity of requirement that candidate or public officer has been resident of governmental unit for specified period, 65 A.L.R.3d 1048.   Validity of age requirement for state public office, 90 A.L.R.3d 900.   Validity, construction and application of regulation regarding outside employment of governmental employees or officers, 94 A.L.R.3d 1230, 62 A.L.R.5th 671.   Validity, construction, and effect of state statutes restricting political activities of public officers or employees, 51 A.L.R.4th 702.   What constitutes conviction within statutory or constitutional provision making conviction of crime ground of disqualification for, removal from, or vacancy in, public office, 10 A.L.R.5th 139.   What constitutes conviction within statutory or constitutional provision making conviction of crime ground of disqualification for, removal from, or vacancy in, public office, 11 A.L.R.5th 52.