Senate Bill 270
By: Senators Watson of the 11th, Gooch of the 51st, Burns of the 23rd, Williams of the 25th,
Kennedy of the 18th and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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 limit the effective date of rules or regulations
adopted by the State Election Board prior to a general primary, general election, or runoff
thereof; to provide that hand delivered absentee ballots shall not be accepted following the
end of advance voting; to provide exceptions; to provide procedures for supervised assistance
in preparing absentee ballots events at an assisted living facility, a nursing home facility, or
a long-term care facility; to provide for notice of such events to candidates and the selection
of poll watchers for the same; to revise certain reporting requirements related to advance
voting; to revise provisions related to locations poll watchers may have access to; to provide
reporting requirements for the conclusion of the computation and canvassing of the returns;
to provide for related matters; to provide an effective date; 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 Code Section 21-2-35, relating to emergency
rules and regulations, imminent peril requirement, and procedures, as follows:
"21-2-35.
<ins>(a) Except for emergency rule-making as provided for in subsection (b) of this Code
section, if the State Election Board adopts a rule, as defined in Code Section 50-13-2, or
a regulation and the date of such adoption is within 60 days of the date of a presidential
preference primary, general primary, general election, or runoff thereof, the effective date
of such rule or regulation shall be 30 days following the date of such primary, election, or
runoff.
(a)(b)</ins> Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, Chapter 3 of Title 38, relating
to emergency management, or Chapter 13 of Title 50, the 'Georgia Administrative
Procedure Act,' to the contrary, the State Election Board may only adopt emergency rules
or regulations in circumstances of imminent peril to public health, safety, or welfare. To
adopt any such emergency rule or regulation, in addition to any other rule-making
requirement of this chapter or Chapter 13 of Title 50, the State Election Board shall:
(1) Give notice to the public of its intended action;
(2) Immediately upon the setting of the date and time of the meeting at which such
emergency rule or regulation is to be considered, give notice by email of its intended
action to:
(A) The Governor;
(B) The Lieutenant Governor;
(C) The Speaker of the House of Representatives;
(D) The chairpersons of the standing committees of each house of the General
Assembly tasked with election matters;
(E) The Secretary of State;
(F) Legislative counsel; and
(G) The chief executive officer of each political party registered pursuant to
subsection (a) of Code Section 21-2-110; and
(3) State in the notices required by paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection the nature
of the emergency and the manner in which such emergency represents an imminent peril
to public health, safety, or welfare.
<del>(b)(c)</del> Upon adoption or promulgation of any emergency rule or regulation pursuant to
<ins>subsection (b) of</ins> this Code section, a majority of the State Election Board shall certify in
writing that such emergency rule or regulation was made in strict and exact compliance
with the provisions of this chapter and subsection (e) of Code Section 50-13-4.
<ins>(c)(d)</ins> In the event of any conflict between this Code section and any provision of
Chapter 13 of Title 50, this Code section shall govern and supersede any such conflicting
provision."
SECTION 2.
Said chapter is further amended in Code Section 21-2-382, relating to additional buildings
as additional registrar's office or place of registration for receiving absentee ballots and for
advance voting, and drop boxes, by adding a new subsection to read as follows:
<ins>"(b.1) Notwithstanding any provisions of this article to the contrary, the registrars or
absentee ballot clerk shall not accept the hand delivery of any absentee ballot following the
end of the period of advance voting provided for in subsection (d) of Code
Section 21-2-385; provided, however, that this subsection shall not apply to:
(1) Any absentee ballots delivered pursuant to subsection (a) of Code Section 21-2-385
on the date of a primary, election, or runoff during the hours polls are open on such day;
(2) Absentee ballots delivered to the registrars or absentee ballot clerk by the United
States Postal Service; or
</ins>
<ins>(3) Absentee ballots cases pursuant to the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens
Absentee Voting Act, 52 U.S.C. Section 20301, et seq., as amended."
</ins> SECTION 3.
Said chapter is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
<ins>"21-2-382.1.
(a) Upon a valid request being made pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section, the
board of registrars or absentee ballot clerk shall provide events at which supervised
assistance in preparing absentee ballots may be provided to absentee electors who reside
in any assisted living facility, nursing home facility, or long-term care facility within the
county, or in the case of municipal elections within the municipality. Such events shall be
known as 'supervised assistance events.'
(b)(1) Request for a supervised assistance in preparing absentee ballot event may be
made by:
(A) The administrator of such facility; or
(B) A resident of such facility who is a registered elector.
(2) Such request shall be submitted in writing to the registrars or absentee ballot clerk
no later than 30 days prior to the date of the primary, election, or runoff for which such
request is submitted. Such request shall specify the name and address of the facility, as
well as the name of each absentee elector who wishes to receive supervised assistance in
preparing his or her absentee ballot. If a request made pursuant to this subsection
contains the names of fewer than five absentee electors, the registrars or absentee ballot
clerk is not required to provide a supervised assistance event.
(c)(1) The registrars or absentee ballot clerk shall, in cooperation with the administrator
of such facility, select the date and time that a supervised assistance event will occur.
(2) Upon setting the date and location for a supervised assistance event, the registrars or
absentee ballot clerk shall provide notice of such event in:
</ins>
<ins>(A) A primary or run-off primary, to each candidate entitled to have his or her name
placed on the primary or run-off primary ballot of such event; and
(B) An election or run-off election, to each political party, each political body, and
each nonpartisan or independent candidate who appears on the ballot for such election
or run-off election.
(d) The registrars or absentee ballot clerk shall designate a supervised assistance team to
provide the services required by this Code section at each supervised assistance event.
Each such team shall include no less than two persons employed or designated by such
registrars or absentee ballot clerk and shall have sworn an oath in the same form as the oath
for poll officers set forth in Code Section 21-2-95.
(e) A supervised assistance team shall deliver absentee ballots and the necessary envelopes
to each absentee elector at such facility who has requested supervised assistance in
preparing his or her absentee ballot. Such team may jointly assist the absentee elector in
preparing the envelopes and the oath required by this article for an absentee ballot. A
member of such team may assist an absentee elector in voting his or her absentee ballot
only if such elector is entitled to assistance in voting pursuant to subsection (c) of Code
Section 21-2-384.
(f) Before providing any assistance to an absentee elector, the supervised assistance team
shall disclose to the absentee elector:
(1) That he or she may:
(A) Retain the absentee ballot and envelopes provided by such team;
(B) Complete such absentee ballot at a later date or time;
(C) Return the completed absentee ballot in any manner as provided for in this article;
or
(D) Vote in person either at an advance voting location or his or her designated
precinct; and
</ins>
<ins>(2) The date that a voted absentee ballot must be delivered to the registrars or absentee
ballot clerk for it to be tabulated for such primary, election, or runoff.
(g) If an absentee elector elects to vote his or her absentee ballot during the supervised
assistance event, such absentee elector may choose to provide the signed and sealed
absentee ballot envelope containing his or her absentee ballot to the supervised assistance
team. Such team shall place all such absentee ballots they receive in a secured container
and upon the completion of the event immediately deliver such container to the registrars
or absentee ballot clerk for processing pursuant to Code Section 21-2-386.
(h) In the event that an absentee elector declines to or is unable to accept an absentee ballot
or the required envelopes from the supervised assistance team, such team shall mark such
absentee ballot as 'refused to vote' or 'unable to vote' and return such absentee ballot to the
registrars or absentee ballot clerk."
</ins> SECTION 4.
Said chapter is further amended in Code Section 21-2-385, relating to procedure for voting
by absentee ballot and advance voting, by revising subsection (e) as follows:
"(e) On each day of an absentee voting period, each county board of registrars or municipal
absentee ballot clerk shall report for the county or municipality to the Secretary of State
and post on the county or municipal website, or if the county or municipality does not
maintain such a website, a place of public prominence in the county or municipality, not
later than 10:00 A.M. on each business day the number of persons to whom absentee
ballots have been issued, the number of persons who have returned absentee ballots, and
the number of absentee ballots that have been rejected. Additionally, on each day of an
advance voting period, each county board of registrars or municipal absentee ballot clerk
shall report to the Secretary of State and post on the county or municipal website, or if the
county or municipality does not maintain such a website, a place of public prominence in
the county or municipality, not later than 10:00 A.M. on each business day the number of
persons who have voted at the advance voting sites in the county or municipality, <ins>and for
each primary the number of nonpartisan ballots requested.</ins> During the absentee voting
period and for a period of three days following a primary, election, or runoff, each county
board of registrars or municipal absentee ballot clerk shall report to the Secretary of State
and post on the county or municipal website, or if the county or municipality does not
maintain such a website, a place of public prominence in the county or municipality, not
later than 10:00 A.M. on each business day the number of persons who have voted
provisional ballots, the number of provisional ballots that have verified or cured and
accepted for counting, and the number of provisional ballots that have been rejected."
SECTION 5.
Said chapter is further amended in Code Section 21-2-408, relating to poll watchers,
designation, duties, removal for interference with election, reports of infractions or
irregularities, ineligibility of candidates to serve, and training, by adding a new subsection
and revising subsection (c) as follows:
<ins>"(b.1)(1) In a primary or run-off primary, each candidate entitled to have his or her name
placed on the primary or run-off primary ballot may submit the name of one poll watcher
for each location at which a supervised assistance event conducted pursuant to Code
Section 21-2-382.1 occurs in which he or she wishes to have an observer to the
chairperson or secretary of the appropriate party executive committee at least 14 days
prior to the date of such supervised assistance event. The appropriate party executive
committee shall designate at least seven days prior to such supervised assistance event
for a primary or run-off primary no more than two poll watchers for each supervised
assistance event location, such poll watchers to be selected by the committee from the list
submitted by party candidates. Official poll watchers shall be given a letter signed by the
party chairperson and secretary, if designated by a political party, containing the
following information: name of official poll watcher, address, location in which he or she
</ins>
<ins>shall serve, and name and date of primary or run-off primary. At least three days prior
to the supervised assistance event, a copy of the letter shall be delivered to the
superintendent and the chief registrar of the county or municipality in which the poll
watcher is to serve.
(2) In an election or run-off election, each political party and political body shall each
be entitled to designate, at least seven days prior to when a supervised assistance event
conducted pursuant to Code Section 21-2-382.1 occurs for such election or run-off
election, no more than two official poll watchers for each supervised assistance event, to
be selected by the appropriate party or body executive committee. Each independent
candidate shall be entitled to designate one poll watcher for each supervised assistance
event. In addition, candidates running in a nonpartisan election shall be entitled to
designate one poll watcher for each supervised assistance event. Each poll watcher shall
be given a letter signed by the appropriate political party or body chairperson and
secretary, if a party or body designates same, or by the independent or nonpartisan
candidate, if named by the independent or nonpartisan candidate. Such letter shall
contain the following information: name of official poll watcher, address, location in
which he or she shall serve, and date of election or run-off election. At least three days
prior to the supervised assistance event, a copy of the letter shall be delivered to the
superintendent and the chief registrar of the county or municipality in which the poll
watcher is to serve.
</ins> (c) In counties or municipalities using direct recording electronic (DRE) voting systems
or optical scanning voting systems, each political party may appoint two poll watchers in
each primary or election, each political body may appoint two poll watchers in each
election, each nonpartisan candidate may appoint one poll watcher in each nonpartisan
election, and each independent candidate may appoint one poll watcher in each election to
serve in the locations designated by the superintendent within the tabulating center. Such
designated locations shall include the check-in area, the computer room, the duplication
area, and such other areas <ins>that tabulation processes are taking place, including, but not
limited to, adjudication of provisional ballots, closing of advance voting equipment, the
verification and processing of absentee ballots, memory card transfers, or election
reconciliation processes</ins> as the superintendent may deem necessary to the assurance of fair
and honest procedures in the tabulating center. The locations designated by the
superintendent shall ensure that each poll watcher can fairly observe the procedures set
forth in this Code section. The poll watchers provided for in this subsection shall be
appointed and serve in the same manner as other poll watchers."
SECTION 6.
Said chapter is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
<ins>"21-2-493.1.
(a) For each primary, election, or runoff, at the conclusion of the computation and
canvassing of the returns provided for in subsection (a) of Code Section 21-2-493, the
election superintendent shall prepare a report indicating the vote totals, by precinct, for all
contests on the ballot; provided, however, that such report need not include information
from:
(1) Absentee ballots cases pursuant to the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens
Absentee Voting Act, 52 U.S.C. Section 20301, et seq., as amended;
(2) Provisional ballots; or
(3) Any ballots requiring adjudication.
(b) As soon as possible but not later than 11:59 P.M. following the conclusion of the
computation and canvassing of the returns provided for in subsection (a) of Code
Section 21-2-493, the election superintendent shall ensure that a copy of such report is
posted on the public website maintained by the county or municipality, if such public
website exists. If no such public website exists, such report must be posted in a public
place that is accessible 24 hours a day to the public."
</ins>
SECTION 7.
This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2025.
SECTION 8.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.