Alan Powell (politician)

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Alan Powell

|image =

|caption =

|office = Member of the Georgia House of Representatives

|term_start = January 14, 1991

|term_end =

|predecessor =

|successor =

|constituency = 13th district (1991–1993)
23rd district (1993–2005)
29th district (2005–2013)
32nd district (2013–2023)
33rd district (2023–present)

|birth_name = Alan Tinsley Powell

|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1951|11|10}}

|birth_place = Hartwell, Georgia, U.S.

|party = Republican (2010–present)

|otherparty = Democratic (before 2010)

|residence = Hartwell, Georgia, U.S.

}}

Alan Tinsley Powell (born November 10, 1951) is an American politician who has served in the Georgia House of Representatives since 1991. He was originally elected as a Democrat, but switched to a Republican in 2010, citing his conservative views.{{cite web|url=http://www.house.ga.gov/representatives/en-US/Member.aspx?Member=187&Session=25 |title=Representative Alan Powell |publisher=House.ga.gov |access-date=2019-07-03}}{{cite web|author=Zach Mitcham |url=http://www.madisonjournaltoday.com/archives/3502-Powell-changes-parties.html |title=Powell changes parties |publisher=MadisonJournalToday |date=2010-11-19 |access-date=2019-07-03}} He graduated from Hart County High School, and received his Bachelors in Political Science from Georgia Southwestern State University.

Tenure

Powell is the current representative of Georgia House District 33, which consists of Hart, Franklin and part of Madison counties. He has served on a number of committees in Georgia's House, including as Chairman of the Motor Vehicles and Public Safety Committee. Governor Nathan Deal also appointed him to serve on the Board of Homeland Security in 2018.{{Cite web |title=Representative Alan Powell {{!}} Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency |url=https://gema.georgia.gov/representative-alan-powell |access-date=2025-01-17 |website=gema.georgia.gov |language=en}}

He has been a strong advocate of the Second Amendment, pro-life policies, and elderly/rural healthcare.{{cn|date=January 2025}} He has been recognized by numerous organizations as Legislator of the Year and has received awards from the Emory Center for Injury Prevention, the NRA Institute for Legislative Action{{cite web |author1=MJ Kneiser |title=NRA Honors Powell for Gun Legislation |url=https://921wlhr.com/nra-honors-powell-for-gun-legislation/ |website=92.1WLHR |publisher=Georgia-Carolina Radiocasting Company |access-date=20 January 2025 |language=en-us |date=October 27, 2014 |url-status=live}} and the National FFA Organization,{{cn|date=January 2025}} among others. He received an Associate Life Membership from the Peace Officers Association of Georgia and is a Distinguished Member of GeorgiaCarry.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

Among other legislation, Powell supported the Election Integrity Act of 2021.{{Cite news|last=Corasaniti|first=Nick|date=2021-03-25|title=Georgia G.O.P. Passes Major Law to Limit Voting Amid Nationwide Push|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/25/us/politics/georgia-voting-law-republicans.html|access-date=2021-03-26|issn=0362-4331}} Some of the provisions contained in the act included restrictions on where ballot drop boxes could be located and when they could be accessed, requiring photo identification for absentee voting, shifting back the deadline to request an absentee ballot, limited early voting hours, and preventing anyone other than poll workers from giving food and water to voters standing in lines.{{Cite web|last1=Nadler|first1=Ben|last2=Yoganathan|first2=Anila|date=1 March 2021|title=Georgia House passes GOP bill rolling back voting access|url=https://apnews.com/article/senate-elections-bills-legislation-elections-georgia-842d9ad16a78901322f4b952f6c0d8dd|url-status=live|website=Associated Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301230344/https://apnews.com/article/senate-elections-bills-legislation-elections-georgia-842d9ad16a78901322f4b952f6c0d8dd |archive-date=2021-03-01 }} It also restricted early voting on Sundays, which critics claimed was "voter suppression".{{Cite news|last1=Corasaniti|first1=Nick|last2=Rutenberg|first2=Jim|date=2021-03-06|title=In Georgia, Republicans Take Aim at Role of Black Churches in Elections|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/06/us/politics/churches-black-voters-georgia.html|access-date=2021-03-07|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|last=Scott|first=Eugene|date=24 February 2021|title=New Georgia legislation would curb 'souls to the polls'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/02/24/new-georgia-legislation-would-curb-souls-polls/|url-status=live|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224224834/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/02/24/new-georgia-legislation-would-curb-souls-polls/ |archive-date=2021-02-24 }} Powell defended the bill, saying "Show me the suppression. There is no suppression in this bill." The legislation was passed along party lines by the Georgia House in a vote of 100–75, and by the Senate in a vote of 34–20, on March 25, 2021. Axios later stated that "99% of Georgia voters in the 2022 election reported no trouble casting their ballots."{{Cite web |last=Hurt |first=Emma |date=2023-01-27 |title=UGA poll: 99% of Georgia voters saw no issues in 2022 |url=https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2023/01/27/uga-poll-99-of-georgia-voters-saw-no-issues-in-2022 |access-date=2025-01-17 |website=Axios |language=en}}

Powell was re-elected to a seventeenth two-year term in Georgia's House during the 2024 elections, having run unopposed and garnering over 29,000 votes.{{Cite web |title=Alan Powell |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Alan_Powell |access-date=2025-01-17 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}

References

Category:1951 births

Category:Living people

Category:Members of the Georgia House of Representatives

Category:Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats

Category:Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans

Category:People from Hartwell, Georgia

Category:21st-century members of the Georgia General Assembly