SB 270: Elections and Primaries; rules or regulations adopted by the State Election Board prior to a general primary, general election, or runoff thereof; limit the effective date

Georgia's State Election Board can currently adopt rules or emergency regulations that take effect close to an election. This bill would generally delay any rule or regulation adopted within 60 days of a presidential preference primary, general primary, general election, or runoff so that it does not take effect until 30 days after that election, unless the board follows a specific emergency process requiring notice to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, legislative leaders, the Secretary of State, and political parties. The bill also stops county registrars from accepting hand delivered absentee ballots after advance voting ends, with exceptions for ballots delivered on election day at the polls, mailed by the Postal Service, or covered by the federal overseas voters law. It creates a new process for 'supervised assistance events' where teams help residents of assisted living, nursing home, or long-term care facilities complete absentee ballots, with advance notice to candidates and parties so they can send poll watchers. It also expands where poll watchers may observe tabulation and requires precinct-level vote total reports after canvassing. The law would take effect July 1, 2025.

• Delays the effective date of most new State Election Board rules or regulations adopted within 60 days of a primary, election, or runoff until 30 days after that election.
• Bans hand delivery of absentee ballots to registrars after advance voting ends, except for ballots dropped off at polls on election day, mailed ballots, or overseas voter ballots.
• Creates a new 'supervised assistance event' process letting trained two-person teams help nursing home, assisted living, and long-term care facility residents complete absentee ballots.
• Requires county officials to notify candidates and parties of supervised assistance events so they can send poll watchers to observe them.
• Expands the locations poll watchers can access during vote tabulation to include provisional ballot adjudication, advance voting equipment closing, absentee ballot processing, and memory card transfers.
• Requires county election officials to post a precinct-by-precinct vote total report by 11:59 p.m. after canvassing concludes.

County boards of registrars and absentee ballot clerks, residents of nursing homes and assisted living or long-term care facilities who vote absentee, political parties and candidates who appoint poll watchers, the State Election Board, and voters who currently hand deliver absentee ballots.

Voters who hand deliver absentee ballots outside election day would lose that option, nursing home residents would get a more structured but more supervised path to vote absentee, and last-minute election rule changes from the State Election Board would be pushed past the next election, potentially reducing disputes over rules adopted close to voting.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 21-2-35 so board rules adopted within 60 days of an election take effect 30 days after that election unless made through the emergency process.
• Section 2 adds subsection (b.1) to O.C.G.A. § 21-2-382 barring hand-delivered absentee ballots after advance voting ends, with three listed exceptions.
• Section 3 creates new O.C.G.A. § 21-2-382.1 setting up 'supervised assistance events' for absentee voting at care facilities, including request procedures, notice to candidates, and handling of refused ballots.
• Section 4 amends O.C.G.A. § 21-2-385 to require daily reporting of nonpartisan ballots requested during primaries.
• Section 5 amends O.C.G.A. § 21-2-408 to let parties and candidates designate poll watchers for supervised assistance events and expands tabulating center areas poll watchers may observe.
• Section 6 creates new O.C.G.A. § 21-2-493.1 requiring a precinct-level vote total report posted publicly by 11:59 p.m. after canvassing, excluding certain absentee, provisional, and adjudicated ballots.
• Section 7 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025.

1. 2025-02-27Senate Read and Referred (Senado)
2. 2025-02-26Senate Hopper (Senado)

• Sam Watson (R, SD-011)Patrocinador principal
• Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)
• Max Burns (R, SD-023)
• Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)
• John Kennedy (R, SD-018)
• Lee Anderson (R, SD-024)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
• Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
• Russ Goodman (R, SD-008)

• absentee voting
• election rules
• poll watchers
• nursing home voting
• State Election Board