Ten year lapse requirement.

- A potential candidate who completed the candidate's sentence for conviction of a felony prior to the enactment of the 1990 amendment of Ga. Const. 1983, Art. II, Sec. II, Para. III did not have any vested rights to seek office; eligibility to hold public office is determined by the statutory and constitutional requirements in effect on the date of the election. McIntyre v. Miller, 263 Ga. 578, 436 S.E.2d 2 (1993).

Double jeopardy not violated.

- The obvious purpose of the 1990 constitutional amendment is not to impose an additional penalty upon convicted felons, but merely to designate a reasonable ground of eligibility for holding public office in this state; accordingly, a contention that disqualification would violate the principle of double jeopardy is without merit. McIntyre v. Miller, 263 Ga. 578, 436 S.E.2d 2 (1993).

Construction with O.C.G.A. § 21-2-494. - Trial court did not err in finding that O.C.G.A. § 21-2-494 was constitutional, despite an election challenger's claim that it impermissibly allowed the exclusion of votes for write-in candidates and because it did not require that voters be provided with notice that write-in votes for unqualified candidates would not be counted, as: (1) it was undisputed that nine write-in votes were cast for individuals who were not eligible to hold office, as these people did not give proper notice of their intention of candidacy; (2) no voters were disenfranchised; (3) each voter was given the opportunity to vote for the candidate of his or her own choosing; and (4) the legislature properly exercised its power when it limited the counting of write-in votes to votes cast for qualified write-in candidates. Brodie v. Champion, 281 Ga. 105, 636 S.E.2d 511 (2006).

Convicted felon is prohibited from running for office of sheriff even though such person might obtain pardon for felony. Barbour v. Democratic Executive Comm., 246 Ga. 193, 269 S.E.2d 433 (1980).

Consideration for plea agreement.

- Granting first offender treatment to defendant for crimes for which the defendant could have been barred from seeking office for ten years constituted consideration for a plea agreement. State v. Barrett, 215 Ga. App. 401, 451 S.E.2d 82 (1994), rev'd on other grounds, 265 Ga. 489, 458 S.E.2d 620 (1995).

Transportation and possession of non-tax-paid liquor is not crime involving moral turpitude. Hutto v. Rowland, 226 Ga. 889, 178 S.E.2d 180 (1970).

Nor is unlawful sale of intoxicating liquors. Hutto v. Rowland, 226 Ga. 889, 178 S.E.2d 180 (1970).

No conviction when verdict set aside or subject to being set aside.

- If a jury's verdict of guilty has been set aside or is under review and thus subject to being set aside either by motion for new trial, bill of exceptions or other appropriate procedure, there is no conviction within the meaning of this paragraph. Summerour v. Cartrett, 220 Ga. 31, 136 S.E.2d 724 (1964).

Words "public money" (now "public funds") mean money belonging to state. Morgan v. Crow, 183 Ga. 147, 187 S.E. 840 (1936).

Power of legislature to provide qualifications for county officers.

- Office of county tax assessor and membership in board of county commissioners are not fixed by the constitution, but are creatures of statutes. That being true, the legislature can deal with the subject of qualification and disqualification. Parks v. Ash, 168 Ga. 868, 149 S.E. 207 (1929).

Receipt of pardon after quo warranto proceedings started does not remove disability.

- Where the right of a county commissioner to hold office is attacked by reason of the commissioner having been convicted of a felony before the commissioner's election, and therefore not a qualified voter or eligible to hold any civil office, the fact that the commissioner received a pardon after the institution of the quo warranto proceedings, but prior to the decision of the trial judge, does not remove the commissioner's ineligibility. Hulgan v. Thornton, 205 Ga. 753, 55 S.E.2d 115 (1949).

Appointee to office of ineligible elected official remains for remainder of term of office.

- Where a vacancy in the office of county Superintendent of Schools was created by proper order of the board of education suspending the holder of such office, and an appointment was made to fill such vacancy, and thereafter the suspended official became ineligible under the Constitution and laws of this state to hold such office, the appointee would retain the office for the remainder of the term of the former ineligible Superintendent under the provisions of former § 20-2-107. Parkerson v. Hart, 200 Ga. 660, 38 S.E.2d 397 (1946).

Temporary suspension of indicted official.

- The constitutional provision prohibiting a convicted felon from holding elective office does not preempt the provision in O.C.G.A. § 45-5-6 for the temporary suspension of an elected official indicted for a felony. Eaves v. Harris, 258 Ga. 1, 364 S.E.2d 854, appeal dismissed, 487 U.S. 1228, 108 S. Ct. 2889, 101 L. Ed. 2d 924 (1988).

Cited in Spillers v. State, 299 Ga. App. 854, 683 S.E.2d 903 (2009).

Necessity of final adjudication of guilt.

- The word "conviction," for purposes of this paragraph refers to an adjudication of guilt which is final. 1974 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 74-26.

Disability does not extend to mere employment.

- Even though parolees from the penitentiary and all convicted felons, before pardon, are ineligible for any civil "office," this disability would not extend to mere employment where such employment does not amount to a position of trust. 1968 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 68-35.

For meaning of the term "moral turpitude," see 1963-65 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 115.

Any crime constituting intentional violation of statute expressing moral judgment of the community against prohibited conduct would involve moral turpitude. 1968 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 68-352.

Person who has been convicted of crime involving moral turpitude cannot hold public office in this state. 1962 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 131.

Ten year lapse requirement.

- A person seeking to hold any office or appointment of honor or trust in this state must meet the eligibility requirements as set forth in Ga. Const. 1983, Art. II, Sec. II, Para. III, as amended by the 1990 amendment. 1992 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 92-3.

The 1990 amendment, which added the 10 year lapse requirement as an additional qualification to hold office, is applicable to bar a person from holding public office who was convicted of a felony, completed a sentence, and regained that person's civil rights prior to the amendment's effective date when 10 years has not yet elapsed from the date of completion of the sentence. 1992 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 92-3.

Person convicted in federal court of transporting stolen automobile in interstate commerce would be ineligible to hold any civil office. 1962 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 131.

Conviction of crime of "having liquor" does not render person disqualified from holding public office. 1967 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 67-26.

Conviction as disability to hold office of public school trustee.

- Construing this paragraph and Ga. L. 1943, p. 185, §§ 20 and 26 (see now O.C.G.A. § 42-9-54), a person who has been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude and who has not been subsequently pardoned is not eligible to hold the office of trustee for a local public school. 1954-56 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 295.

Effect of plea of nolo contendere on appointment to university teaching position.

- Since a plea of nolo contendere may not be raised in another proceeding as a basis for any civil disqualification, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia is not legally prohibited from appointing an individual to a teaching position. 1963-65 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 566.

Person convicted of crime before reaching age of 17 loses that person's right to vote if convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude even though the person is committed to the State Department of Human Resources, rather than sentenced to the Board of Corrections (now Department of Offender Rehabilitation). 1975 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 75-17.

Registering to vote after qualifying for office.

- A candidate who registers to vote only after qualification for office and the closing of the qualification process is not legally qualified to run for office. 1992 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U92-14.

Federal candidate need not be registered voter or resident of election district.

- Insofar as they require a candidate for the United States House of Representatives to be a registered voter or to be a resident of the district from which election is sought, Ga. Const. 1983, Art. II, Sec. II, Para. III and O.C.G.A § 21-2-132 are unenforceable, as the only qualifications a candidate must possess to be eligible to seek the office of United States representative are those enumerated in U.S. Const., art. I, sec. II. 1983 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 83-62.

Conviction as disqualification from position of trust under Board of Regents.

- Conviction and sentence for a felony involving moral turpitude does not render an individual ineligible for employment by the Board of Regents unless the position of employment is one which constitutes a position of trust. 1985 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 85-47.

A conviction resulting from a nolo contendere plea cannot be used to impose any disability including disqualification from voting, holding public office, and jury service. 1983 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 83-33.

Completion of sentence does not restore right to hold office or position of trust.

- Pardon or restoration of civil rights is necessary to hold any office or appointment of honor or trust, even if the sentence has been completed, if the conviction was for a felony involving moral turpitude. 1983 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 83-33.

Editor's notes.

-.

In light of the similarity of the provisions, opinions under former Ga. Const. 1976, Art. II, Sec. III, Para. III and antecedent provisions, relating to specified eligibility requirements for persons elected on write-in votes, are included in the annotations for this paragraph.

Notice of intention of candidacy pursuant to this paragraph includes both giving notice to proper official and publishing notice in prescribed manner. 1972 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 72-151.

Notice of intention need not be given in advance by write-in candidate in special election. 1969 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-59.

Applicability to persons seeking justice of the peace and constable offices.

- Persons seeking election as write-in candidates for the offices of justices of the peace and constables (both now judge of the magistrate court) at the November general election are required by the Constitution to file their notices with the Secretary of State and comply with the state-wide publication requirement. 1968 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 68-356.

Failure to fill offices by special election.

- If no one is elected in a special election, the offices of justice of the peace and constable (both now judge of the magistrate court) must be filled by election rather than appointment. 1969 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-59.

Enforcement against write-in primary candidate.

- While a "write-in" candidate who has in fact filed a "notice of intention of candidacy" prior to any of the fiscal disclosure report filing dates surrounding the primary must comply with those report requirements occurring after the candidate has become a candidate, and while an individual who "intends" to subsequently become a "write-in" candidate "should" file such reports, the practical consequence is probably that only those reporting dates fixed with respect to the general election can be enforced against a "write-in" candidate. 1976 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 76-22.

How vacancy created by noncompliance with paragraph filled.

- Vacancy in office which results from a determination in a quo warranto proceeding that the election for that office failed because of a failure to comply with this paragraph is filled by a special election for that office. 1976 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 76-56.

C.J.S.

- 29 C.J.S., Elections, § 305 et seq. 67 C.J.S., Officers and Public Employees, § 37.

ALR.

- Time as of which eligibility or ineligibility to office is to be determined, 88 A.L.R. 812; 143 A.L.R. 1026.

Elections: validity of state or local legislative ban on write-in votes, 69 A.L.R.4th 948.