# Mandi Ballinger (GA House D-23) — Legislator Fact Sheet · The GA Files > Mandi Ballinger (R, House District 23 — Canton/Cherokee), who served until her death in office in 2025: her votes, constituent access, and donors — a state-level legislator fact sheet. *Source: https://thegafiles.com/MandiBallinger.html · The GA Files (thegafiles.com)* --- State Level Legislator Fact Sheet · Georgia House of Representatives · District 23 # Mandi Ballinger Party Republican In Office 2013 – 2025 (died in office) House Role Former member · Cherokee County Scope of This Review 2019 – 2025 Mandi Ballinger, a Canton attorney, represented House District 23 in Cherokee County from 2013 until her death on October 12, 2025, after a battle with cancer. She chaired the Juvenile Justice Committee and was known for work on family and criminal-justice law. Republican Bill Fincher won the January 2026 special election to succeed her; the 2026 votes postdate her tenure and are not attributed to her. The record below reflects her service. 7 / 7Ballinger voted **YEA on all seven** of the key bills below that came up during her service — with the Republican majority throughout. **Methodology.** Each vote is Rep. Ballinger's actual position from the official Georgia roll call (legis.ga.gov), transcribed into a verified vote database and cross-checked against the published Yea/Nay totals. The chamber tally and final status (became law / died in House) are noted per bill. 01 ## Riley Gaines Act SB 1 · 2025 Session YEA Floor Vote House vote (Passage), 2025 session — 100–64 Status Became law (2025 session) Rep. Ballinger's Vote Voted **YEA** — with the chamber majority, on a party-line vote. ### Impact on Everyday Georgians Bars transgender women and girls from competing on female school and college sports teams and requires K–12 and college sports, locker rooms, and restrooms to be designated by sex assigned at birth. Supporters framed it as protecting fairness and safety in women's sports; opponents — including LGBTQ advocates and some parents — said it stigmatizes transgender students and invites invasive enforcement. #### Sources - [LegiScan — SB 1 bill text, history & roll calls](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB1/2025) 02 ## Tort Reform SB 68 · 2025 Session YEA Floor Vote House vote (Immediately Transmit), 2025 session — 94–77 Status Became law — Gov. Kemp's signature 2025 priority Rep. Ballinger's Vote Voted **YEA** — with the chamber majority, on a party-line vote. ### Impact on Everyday Georgians Overhauled Georgia's civil-litigation rules — limiting when businesses and property owners can be sued (notably for negligent-security claims), changing how juries are told about medical damages, and allowing trials to be split into liability and damages phases. Backers said it would lower insurance costs and curb runaway verdicts; trial lawyers and consumer advocates warned it makes it harder for injured Georgians to recover full damages. #### Sources - [LegiScan — SB 68 bill text, history & roll calls](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB68/2025) 03 ## Religious Freedom Restoration Act SB 36 · 2025 Session YEA Floor Vote House vote (Passage), 2025 session — 96–70 Status Became law (2025 session) Rep. Ballinger's Vote Voted **YEA** — with the chamber majority, on a party-line vote. ### Impact on Everyday Georgians Georgia's Religious Freedom Restoration Act bars state and local government from “substantially burdening” a person's exercise of religion without a compelling interest. Supporters called it a long-sought protection mirroring the 1993 federal law; opponents — including civil-rights groups and some businesses — warned it could be used to justify discrimination, particularly against LGBTQ Georgians, since the state has no statewide anti-discrimination law. #### Sources - [LegiScan — SB 36 bill text, history & roll calls](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB36/2025) 04 ## Gender-Affirming Care Ban (Minors) SB 140 · 2023 Session YEA Floor Vote House vote (Immediately Transmit), 2023 session — 97–74 Status Became law (2023 session) Rep. Ballinger's Vote Voted **YEA** — with the chamber majority, on a party-line vote. ### Impact on Everyday Georgians Prohibits hormone therapy and surgical gender-affirming care for transgender minors in Georgia, with limited exceptions. Supporters said it shields children from irreversible decisions; major medical associations and families of transgender youth opposed it, arguing it overrides parents and doctors and strips away evidence-based care. #### Sources - [LegiScan — SB 140 bill text, history & roll calls](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB140/2023) 05 ## Heartbeat Bill (Abortion Ban) HB 481 · 2019 Session YEA Floor Vote House vote (Agree to Senate Substitute), 2019 session — 92–78 Status Became law (2019); took effect in 2022 after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade Rep. Ballinger's Vote Voted **YEA** — with the chamber majority, on a party-line vote. ### Impact on Everyday Georgians Bans most abortions once embryonic cardiac activity is detected — around six weeks, before many people know they are pregnant — with narrow exceptions. Blocked by courts for years, it took effect in 2022 after _Dobbs_. It sharply curtailed abortion access in Georgia and has reshaped how doctors manage pregnancy complications across the region. #### Sources - [LegiScan — HB 481 bill text, history & roll calls](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB481/2019) 06 ## Right to IVF HB 428 · 2025 Session YEA Floor Vote House vote (Passage), 2025 session — 172–0 Status Became law (2025 session) Rep. Ballinger's Vote Voted **YEA** — with the chamber majority, on a bipartisan vote. ### Impact on Everyday Georgians Establishes a state right to access in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and protects providers — one of the rare bipartisan votes in this set. It followed national alarm after an Alabama court ruling threatened IVF, and aimed to reassure Georgia families pursuing fertility treatment that the procedure would remain legal and available. #### Sources - [LegiScan — HB 428 bill text, history & roll calls](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB428/2025) 07 ## State Income Tax Cut HB 111 · 2025 Session YEA Floor Vote House vote (Passage), 2025 session — 110–60 Status Became law (2025 session) Rep. Ballinger's Vote Voted **YEA** — with the chamber majority, on a party-line vote. ### Impact on Everyday Georgians Accelerated Georgia's move to a lower flat income tax, cutting the rate ahead of schedule (to 5.19%). Supporters said it returns surplus money to taxpayers; critics cautioned that flat-rate cuts deliver the largest dollar benefits to higher earners and reduce the revenue available for schools, health care, and public services. #### Sources - [LegiScan — HB 111 bill text, history & roll calls](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB111/2025) Constituent Access ## Town Halls Public meetings with constituents · 2013–2025 Ballinger engaged constituents through her House office and Cherokee-county civic and legal networks during her tenure. ## Documented Record - No recurring solo open-constituent town-hall series is separately catalogued in local press. Ballinger worked through the Cherokee-county delegation and direct constituent service. - Ballinger died in office on October 12, 2025; Republican Bill Fincher won the January 2026 special election for the seat. State legislators' constituent-event records are thin and locally reported; this section reflects her time in office. Corrections are welcome via the contact link below. ## Sources - [Mandi Ballinger — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandi_Ballinger) - [Mandi Ballinger — Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Mandi_Ballinger) Campaign Finance ## Campaign Finance Who funded Rep. Ballinger · recent cycles Pinned — In Memoriam Served 2013–2025 Ballinger, a Cherokee-county attorney and Juvenile Justice Committee chair, served in the House from 2013 until her death in office in October 2025. Her reported donors were a legal-and-business mix — the Civil Justice PAC, a national law firm, the beverage lobby, and auto dealers. ## Top Contributors Ballinger's largest reported contributors from the Georgia Ethics Commission (PeachFile). | # | Contributor | Total | | --- | --- | --- | **$0** raised · **$0** cash on hand. Source: the Georgia Ethics Commission (Georgia campaign-finance filings). Reported top donors, not a full sector breakdown; Georgia does not produce OpenSecrets-style sector/industry rollups, and the Georgia Ethics Commission holds the official itemized filings. ## Sources - [Georgia Ethics Commission (PeachFile) — campaign finance](https://peachfile.ethics.ga.gov) - [Georgia Ethics Commission — official filings](https://media.ethics.ga.gov/search/Campaign/Campaign_ReportLog.aspx) - [OpenSecrets — Georgia state](https://www.opensecrets.org/states/GA) ## Verification Resources - [Georgia General Assembly — House roll-call votes](https://www.legis.ga.gov/votes/house) - [Mandi Ballinger — Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Mandi_Ballinger) - [Open States — Georgia legislators & votes](https://openstates.org/ga/legislators/) - [Georgia Ethics Commission — campaign finance](https://media.ethics.ga.gov/search/Campaign/Campaign_ReportLog.aspx) Vote positions are Rep. Ballinger's actual recorded votes from the official Georgia roll calls (legis.ga.gov), transcribed into a verified vote database and cross-checked against the published Yea/Nay totals. Campaign-finance figures are pulled live from the Georgia Government Transparency & Campaign Finance Commission (PeachFile) and are current to the committee's most recent filed disclosure report; Georgia does not produce OpenSecrets-style sector/industry rollups. [← All Legislators](https://thegafiles.com/legislators.html)