Candidates in Georgia can use campaign funds to cover childcare. Why aren’t they?

Georgia’s political hopefuls are hitting the trail as the May 19 primary election approaches. But for parents, particularly mothers of young children, family responsibilities can make the process of campaigning a more complicated endeavor.

In Georgia, only 19 of the state’s 236 lawmakers were moms of children under the age of 18, according to a 2024 report released earlier this week by the Vote Mama Foundation, which tracks barriers that moms of young children face when seeking elected office. The state would need another 24 mom lawmakers to reach proportional representation, according to the report.

There are efforts underway to make it easier for moms of school-age children to run for office. Under a 2023 ethics commission advisory opinion, childcare costs incurred by candidates on the campaign trail are considered an “ordinary and necessary campaign expenditure,” meaning they can be paid for using campaign funds.