07 SB194/AP
Senate
Bill 194
By:
Senators Staton of the 18th, Williams of the 19th, Wiles of the 37th, Harp of
the 29th, Carter of the 13th and others
AS PASSED
AN
ACT
To
amend Chapter 2 of Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to elections and primaries generally, so as to provide that certain election
officials shall be certified by a certain date; to change the date of the
presidential preference primary in Georgia; to change the date by which the
parties must submit names to the Secretary of State for inclusion on the ballot
and the date on which the Secretary of State shall publish such list of names;
to provide in certain circumstances that the county election superintendent may
begin the tabulation of absentee ballots prior to the close of the polls on the
day of a primary, election, or runoff; to provide procedures for such
tabulation; to provide that absentee ballots that are enclosed in an outer
envelope but not contained in an inner envelope shall be counted; to provide
that a person may cancel his or her absentee ballot under certain circumstances;
to provide for related matters; to provide effective dates; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
2 of Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elections
and primaries generally, is amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section
21-2-101, relating to certification program for election superintendents or
election board designee, as follows:
"(a)
All election superintendents or, in the case of a board of elections or a board
of elections and registration, the designee of such board charged with the daily
operations of such board shall become certified by completing a certification
program approved by the Secretary of State by no later than December 31 of the
year in which they are appointed. Such program may include instruction on, and
may require the superintendent to demonstrate proficiency in, the operation of
the state´s direct recording electronic voting equipment and in state and
federal law and procedures related to elections. The local government employing
the superintendent or designee shall cover the costs, if any, incurred by such
superintendent or designee´s participation in the certification program.
Such certification programs shall be offered by the Secretary of State on
multiple occasions before December 31 of the year in which such superintendents
or designees are appointed and shall not exceed 64 hours of classroom, online,
and practical instruction as authorized and approved by the Secretary of
State."
SECTION
2.
Said
chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 21-2-191, relating to
parties entitled to hold primaries and the dates for such primaries, as
follows:
"21-2-191.
As
provided in this article, a presidential preference primary shall be held in
2008 and every four years thereafter for each political party or body which has
cast for its candidates for President and Vice President in the last
presidential election more than 20 percent of the total vote cast for President
and Vice President in the state, so that the electors may express their
preference for one person to be the candidate for nomination by such
person´s party or body for the office of President of the United States;
provided, however, that no elector shall vote in the primary of more than one
political party or body in the same presidential preference primary. Such
primary shall be held on February 5, 2008, and on the first Tuesday in
February every four years thereafter. A state political party or body may by
rule choose to elect any portion of its delegates to that party´s or
body´s presidential nominating convention in the primary; and, if a state
political party or body chooses to elect any portion of its delegates, such
state political party or body shall establish the qualifying period for those
candidates for delegate and delegate alternate positions which are to be elected
in the primary and for any party officials to be elected in the primary and
shall also establish the date on which state and county party executive
committees shall certify to the Secretary of State or the superintendent, as the
case may be, the names of any such candidates who are to be elected in the
primary; provided, however, that such dates shall not be later than November 1
of the year preceding the year in which the presidential preference primary is
to be held."
SECTION
3.
Said
chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 21-2-193, relating to list
of names of candidates to appear on ballot, as follows:
"21-2-193.
Not
later than November 1 of the year preceding the year in which a presidential
preference primary is to be held, the state executive committee of each party
which is to conduct a presidential preference primary shall submit to the
Secretary of State a list of the names of the candidates of such party to appear
on the presidential preference primary ballot. Such lists shall be published by
the Secretary of State in a newspaper of general circulation in the state during
the first week of December in the year immediately preceding the year in which
the presidential preference primary is to be held."
SECTION
4.
Said
chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 21-2-386, relating to
safekeeping, certification, and validation of absentee ballots, as
follows:
"21-2-386.
(a)(1)(A)
The board of registrars or absentee ballot clerk shall keep safely and unopened
all official absentee ballots received from absentee electors prior to the
closing of the polls on the day of the primary or election except as otherwise
provided in this subsection.
(B)
Upon receipt of each ballot, a registrar or clerk shall write the day and hour
of the receipt of the ballot on its envelope. The registrar or clerk shall then
compare the identifying information on the oath with the information on file in
his or her office, shall compare the signature or mark on the oath with the
signature or mark on the absentee elector´s voter registration card and
application for absentee ballot or a facsimile of said signature or mark taken
from said card or application, and shall, if the information and signature
appear to be valid and other identifying information appears to be correct, so
certify by signing or initialing his or her name below the voter´s oath.
Each elector´s name so certified shall be listed by the registrar or clerk
on the numbered list of absentee voters prepared for his or her
precinct.
(C)
If the elector has failed to sign the oath, or if the signature does not appear
to be valid, or if the elector has failed to furnish required information or
information so furnished does not conform with that on file in the
registrar´s or clerk´s office, or if the elector is otherwise found
disqualified to vote, the registrar or clerk shall write across the face of the
envelope 'Rejected,' giving the reason therefor. The board of registrars or
absentee ballot clerk shall promptly notify the elector of such rejection, a
copy of which notification shall be retained in the files of the board of
registrars or absentee ballot clerk for at least one year.
(D)
An elector who registered to vote by mail, but did not comply with subsection
(c) of Code Section 21-2-220, and who votes for the first time in this state by
absentee ballot shall include with his or her application for an absentee ballot
or in the outer oath envelope of his or her absentee ballot either one of the
forms of identification listed in subsection (a) of Code Section 21-2-417 or a
copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or
other government document that shows the name and address of such elector. If
such elector does not provide any of the forms of identification listed in this
subparagraph with his or her application for an absentee ballot or with the
absentee ballot, such absentee ballot shall be deemed to be a provisional ballot
and such ballot shall only be counted if the registrars are able to verify
current and valid identification of the elector as provided in this subparagraph
within the time period for verifying provisional ballots pursuant to Code
Section 21-2-419.
(E)
Three copies of the numbered list of voters shall also be prepared for such
rejected absentee electors, giving the name of the elector and the reason for
the rejection in each case. Three copies of the numbered list of certified
absentee voters and three copies of the numbered list of rejected absentee
voters for each precinct shall be turned over to the poll manager in charge of
counting the absentee ballots and shall be distributed as required by law for
numbered lists of voters.
(F)
All absentee ballots returned to the board or absentee ballot clerk after the
closing of the polls on the day of the primary or election shall be safely kept
unopened by the board or absentee ballot clerk and then transferred to the
appropriate clerk for storage for the period of time required for the
preservation of ballots used at the primary or election and shall then, without
being opened, be destroyed in like manner as the used ballots of the primary or
election. The board of registrars or absentee ballot clerk shall promptly
notify the elector by first-class mail that the elector´s ballot was
returned too late to be counted and that the elector will not receive credit for
voting in the primary or election. All such late absentee ballots shall be
delivered to the appropriate clerk and stored as provided in Code Section
21-2-390.
(G)
Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, until the United
States Department of Defense notifies the Secretary of State that the Department
of Defense has implemented a system of expedited absentee voting for those
electors covered by this subparagraph, absentee ballots cast in a primary,
election, or runoff by eligible absentee electors who reside outside the county
or municipality in which the primary, election, or runoff is held and are
members of the armed forces of the United States, members of the merchant marine
of the United States, spouses or dependents of members of the armed forces or
merchant marine residing with or accompanying such members, or overseas citizens
that are postmarked by the date of such primary, election, or runoff and are
received within the three-day period following such primary, election, or
runoff, if proper in all other respects, shall be valid ballots and shall be
counted and included in the certified election results.
(2)
After the opening of the polls on the day of the primary, election, or runoff,
the registrars or absentee ballot clerks shall be authorized to open the outer
envelope on which is printed the oath of the elector in such a manner as not to
destroy the oath printed thereon; provided, however, that the registrars or
absentee ballot clerk shall not be authorized to remove the contents of such
outer envelope or to open the inner envelope marked 'Official Absentee Ballot,'
except as otherwise provided in this Code section. At least three persons who
are registrars, deputy registrars, poll workers, or absentee ballot clerks must
be present before commencing; and three persons who are registrars, deputy
registrars, or absentee ballots clerks shall be present at all times while the
outer envelopes are being opened. After opening the outer envelopes, the
ballots shall be safely and securely stored until the time for tabulating such
ballots.
(3)
A county election superintendent may, in his or her discretion, after 7:00 A.M.
on the day of the primary, election, or runoff open the inner envelopes in
accordance with the procedures prescribed in this subsection and begin
tabulating the absentee ballots. If the county election superintendent chooses
to open the inner envelopes and begin tabulating such ballots prior to the close
of the polls on the day of the primary, election, or runoff, the superintendent
shall notify in writing, at least seven days prior to the primary, election, or
runoff, the county executive committee or, if there is no organized county
executive committee, the state executive committee of each political party and
political body having candidates whose names appear on the ballot for such
election in such county and each independent and nonpartisan candidate whose
name appears on the ballot for such primary, election, or runoff in such county
of the superintendent´s intent to begin the absentee ballot tabulation
prior to the close of the polls and their right to appoint monitors to observe
the tabulation. Such committee shall have the right to designate two persons
and each independent and nonpartisan candidate whose name appears on the ballot
for such election in such county shall have the right to designate one person to
act as monitors for such process. In the event that the only issue to be voted
upon in an election is a referendum question, the chief judge of the superior
court of the county shall appoint two electors of the county to monitor such
process.
(4)
The county election superintendent shall publish a written notice in the
superintendent´s office of the superintendent´s intent to begin the
absentee ballot tabulation prior to the close of the polls and publish such
notice at least one week prior to the primary, election, or runoff in the legal
organ of the county.
(5)
The process for opening the inner envelopes of and tabulating absentee ballots
on the day of a primary, election, or runoff as provided in this subsection
shall be a confidential process to maintain the secrecy of all ballots and to
protect the disclosure of any balloting information before 7:00 P.M. on election
day. No absentee ballots shall be tabulated before 7:00 A.M. on the day of a
primary, election, or runoff.
(6)
All persons conducting the tabulation of absentee ballots during the day of a
primary, election, or runoff, including the vote review panel required by Code
Section 21-2-483, and all monitors and observers shall be sequestered until the
time for the closing of the polls. All such persons shall have no contact with
the news media; shall have no contact with other persons not involved in
monitoring, observing, or conducting the tabulation; shall not use any type of
communication device including radios, telephones, and cellular telephones;
shall not utilize computers for the purpose of electronic mail, instant
messaging, or other forms of communication; and shall not communicate any
information concerning the tabulation until the time for the closing of the
polls; provided, however, that supervisory and technical assistance personnel
shall be permitted to enter and leave the area in which the tabulation is being
conducted but shall not communicate any information concerning the tabulation to
anyone other than the county election superintendent; the staff of the
superintendent; those persons conducting, observing, or monitoring the
tabulation; and those persons whose technical assistance is needed for the
tabulation process to operate.
(7)
The absentee ballots shall be tabulated in accordance with the procedures of
this chapter for the tabulation of absentee ballots. As such ballots are
tabulated, they shall be placed into locked ballot boxes and may be transferred
to locked ballot bags, if needed, for security. The persons conducting the
tabulation of the absentee ballots shall not cause the tabulating equipment to
produce any count, partial or otherwise, of the absentee votes cast until the
time for the closing of the polls.
(b)
As soon as practicable after 7:00 A.M. on the day of the primary, election, or
runoff, in precincts other than those in which optical scanning tabulators are
used, a registrar or absentee ballot clerk shall deliver the official absentee
ballot of each certified absentee elector, each rejected absentee ballot,
applications for such ballots, and copies of the numbered lists of certified and
rejected absentee electors to the manager in charge of the absentee ballot
precinct of the county or municipality, which shall be located in the precincts
containing the county courthouse or polling place designated by the municipal
superintendent. In those precincts in which optical scanning tabulators are
used, such absentee ballots shall be taken to the tabulation center or other
place designated by the superintendent, and the official receiving such absentee
ballots shall issue his or her receipt therefor. Except as otherwise provided
in this Code section, in no event shall the counting of the ballots begin before
the polls close.
(c)
Except as otherwise provided in this Code section, after the close of the polls
on the day of the primary, election, or runoff, a manager shall then open the
outer envelope in such manner as not to destroy the oath printed thereon and
shall deposit the inner envelope marked 'Official Absentee Ballot' in a ballot
box reserved for absentee ballots. In the event that an outer envelope is found
to contain an absentee ballot that is not in an inner envelope, the ballot shall
be sealed in an inner envelope, initialed and dated by the person sealing the
inner envelope, and deposited in the ballot box and counted in the same manner
as other absentee ballots, provided that such ballot is otherwise proper. Such
manager with two assistant managers, appointed by the superintendent, with such
clerks as the manager deems necessary shall count the absentee ballots following
the procedures prescribed by this chapter for other ballots, insofar as
practicable, and prepare an election return for the county or municipality
showing the results of the absentee ballots cast in such county or
municipality.
(d)
Any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, if at any primary,
general, or special election in any county any question is to be voted on
involving any political subdivision which includes less than the entire county,
all absentee ballots shall be separated by precinct for counting purposes; and
separate returns shall be certified for each precinct in which absentee ballots
were cast.
(e)
If an absentee elector´s right to vote has been challenged for cause, a
poll officer shall open the envelopes and write 'Challenged,' the elector´s
name, and the alleged cause of challenge on the back of the ballot, without
disclosing the markings on the face thereof, and shall deposit the ballot in the
box; and it shall be counted as other challenged ballots are counted. Where
direct recording electronic voting systems are used for absentee balloting and a
challenge to an elector´s right to vote is made prior to the time that the
elector votes, the elector shall vote on a paper or optical scanning ballot and
such ballot shall be handled as provided in this subsection. The board of
registrars or absentee ballot clerk shall promptly notify the elector of such
challenge.
(f)
It shall be unlawful at any time prior to the close of the polls for any person
to disclose or for any person to receive any information regarding the results
of the tabulation of absentee ballots except as expressly provided by
law."
SECTION
5.
Said
chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 21-2-388, relating to
cancellation of absentee ballots of electors who are present in the election
precinct during primaries and elections, as follows:
"21-2-388.
When
an absentee ballot which has been voted shall be returned to and received by the
board of registrars, it shall be deemed to have been voted then and there; and
no other ballot shall be issued to the same elector. If an elector has
requested to vote by absentee ballot and has not received such absentee ballot,
has such ballot in his or her possession, or has returned such ballot but the
registrars have not received such ballot, such elector may have the absentee
ballot canceled and vote in person on the day of the primary, election, or
runoff in one of the following ways:
(1)
If the elector is in possession of the ballot, by surrendering the absentee
ballot to the poll manager of the precinct in which the elector´s name
appears on the electors list and then being permitted to vote the regular
ballot. The poll manager shall mark 'Canceled' and the date and time across the
face of the absentee ballot and shall initial same. The poll manager shall also
make appropriate notations beside the name of the elector on the electors list.
All such canceled absentee ballots shall be returned with other ballots to the
superintendent; or
(2)
If the elector has not received the ballot or if the elector has returned the
ballot but the registrars have not received the ballot, by appearing in person
before the registrars or the absentee ballot clerk and requesting in writing
that the envelope containing the elector´s absentee ballot be marked
'Canceled.' After having satisfied themselves as to the identity of such
elector, the registrars or the absentee ballot clerk shall grant the request and
shall notify the managers of the elector´s precinct as to such action so as
to permit the elector to vote in person in that precinct. If the absentee
ballot is in the mail or its exact location is unknown, the registrar or the
absentee ballot clerk shall write 'Canceled' beside the elector´s name on
the master list of absentee voters and shall cancel the ballot itself as soon as
it is received. Canceled absentee ballots shall be disposed of in the same
manner as provided in subsection (a) of Code Section 21-2-386 for absentee
ballots returned too late to be cast."
SECTION
6.
This
Act shall become effective on July 1, 2007.
SECTION
7.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.