Sb 202: Revisions to Georgia's Election and Voting Procedures

• Jurisdiction: Georgia,United States
• Citation: Vol. 38 No. 1
• Publication year: 2022

SB 202: Revisions to Georgia's Election and Voting Procedures

Leila Fawaz
lfawaz1@student.gsu.edu

Kate Mize
kmize1@student.gsu.edu

Monica Vu
mvu2@student.gsu.edu

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ELECTIONS

Elections and Primaries Generally: Comprehensively Revise Elections and Voting; Amend Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Relating to Elections and Primaries Generally, so as to Revise a Definition; Provide for the Establishment of a Voter Intimidation and Illegal Election Activities Hotline; Limit the Ability of the State Election Board and Secretary of State to Enter into Certain Consent Agreements, Settlements, and Consent Orders; Provide that the Secretary of State Shall be a Nonvoting Ex Officio Member of the State Election Board; Provide for the Appointment, Confirmation, Term, and Removal of the Chairperson of the State Election Board; Revise Provisions Relating to a Quorum of such Board; Require the Secretary of State to Support and Assist the State Election Board; Provide for the Appointment of Temporary and Permanent Replacement Superintendents; Provide for Procedures; Provide for Performance Reviews of Local Election Officials Requested by the State Election Board or Local Governing Authorities; Provide for a Definition; Provide for Appointment and Duties of Performance Review Boards; Provide for Reports of Performance Review Boards; Provide for Promulgation of Rules and Regulations; Provide Additional Requirements on the State Election Board's Power to Adopt Emergency Rules and Regulations; Provide that No Election Superintendents or Boards of Registrars Shall Accept Private Funding; Provide that the State Election Board Shall Develop Methods for Distribution of Donations; Provide that Certain Persons May Serve as Poll Workers in Other than the County of their Residence; Provide for the Appointment of Acting Election Superintendents in the Event of a Vacancy or Incapacitation in the Office of Judge of the Probate Court of Counties without a Board of Elections; Provide for Resumption of the Duties of Election Superintendent upon the Filling of Such Vacancy; Provide for the Compensation of Such Acting Election Superintendents; Provide for the Reduction in Size of Certain Precincts under Certain Circumstances; Provide for Notice When Polling Places are Relocated; Provide for Certain Reports; Provide Limitations on the

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Use of Buses and Other Moveable Facilitates; Provide that the Name and Designation of the Precinct Appears on Every Ballot; Provide for Allocation of Voting Equipment by Counties and Municipalities; Provide for the Manner of Handling the Death of a Candidate Prior to a Nonpartisan Election; Provide that No Candidate Shall Take or be Sworn into Any Elected Public Office unless Such Candidate Has Received a Majority of the Votes Cast for Such Office Except as Otherwise Provided by Law; Provide for Participation in a Multistate Voter Registration System; Revise Procedures and Standards for Challenging Electors; Provide for the Printing of Ballots on Safety Paper; Provide for the Time and Manner for Applying for Absentee Ballots; Provide for Certain Limitations and Sanctions on the Distribution of Absentee Ballot Applications; Provide for Absentee Ballot Drop Boxes and the Requirements Therefore; Provide for the Time and Manner of Lssuing Absentee Ballots; Provide for the Manner of Voting and Returning Absentee Ballots; Revise the Times for Advance Voting; Limit Changes to Advance Voting Locations in the Period Prior to an Election; Provide Notice Requirements for Changes of Advance Voting Locations; Provide for the Processing and Tabulation of Absentee Ballots; Provide Sanctions for Improperly Opening an Absentee Ballot; Provide for Certain Elector Identification for Absentee Balloting; Provide for Monitors and Observers; Provide

for Poll-Watcher Training; Provide for Restrictions on the Distribution of Certain Items within Close Proximity to the Polls on Election Days; Provide for the Voting and Processing of Provisional Ballots; Provide for Duplication Panels for Defective Ballots that Cannot Be Processed by Tabulating Machines; Provide for Ranked Choice Voting for Military and Overseas Voters; Revise the Time for Runoffs; Revise Eligibility to Vote in Runoffs; Provide for the Deadline for Election Certification; Provide for a Pilot Program for the Scanning and Publishing of Ballots; Provide for the Inspection and Copying of Original Ballots by Certain Persons Following the Completion of a Recount; Provide for Special Primaries and Special Elections to Fill Vacancies in Certain Offices; Provide for Public Notice and Observation of Preparation of Voting Equipment; Provide for Observation of Elections and Ballot Processing and Counting; Provide for the Filling of

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Vacancies in Certain Offices; Prohibit Observing or Attempting to Observe How a Voter Marks or Has Marked His or Her Ballot or Inducing a Voter to do so; Prohibit the Acceptance of a Ballot for Return without Authorization; Prohibit the Photographing or Other Recording of Ballots and Ballot Markers; Amend Chapter 35 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Relating to Home Rule Powers, so as to Provide for the Delay of Reapportionment of Municipal Corporation Election Districts When Census Numbers Are Delayed; Amend Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Relating to General Provisions Regarding State Government, so as to Provide for the Submission and Suspension of Emergency Rules by the State Election Board; Provide a Short Title; Provide for Related Matters; Provide for Effective Dates; Repeal Conflicting Laws; and for Other Purposes

Code Sections: O.C.G.A. §§ 21-2-2 (amended); 21-2-3 (amended); 21-2-10 (amended); 21-2-11 (amended); 21-2-30 (amended); 21-2-32 (amended); 21-2-33.1 (amended); 21-2-33.2 (new); 21-2-35 (new); 21-2-45 (amended); 21-2-50 (amended); 21-2-70 (amended); 21-2-71 (amended); 21-2-74.1 (new); 21-2-92 (amended); 21-2-105 (new); 21-2-106 (new); 21-2-134 (amended); 21-2-212 (amended); 21-2-229 (amended); 21-2-230 (amended); 21-2-232 (amended); 21-2-263 (amended); 21-2-265 (amended); 21-2-266 (amended); 21-2-267 (amended); 21-2-280 (amended); 21-2-285 (amended); 21-2-285.1 (amended); 21-2-290 (amended); 21-2-300 (amended); 21-2-367 (amended); 21-2-372 (amended); 21-2-379.25 (amended); 21-2-381 (amended); 21-2-382 (amended); 21-2-383

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(amended); 21-2-384 (amended); 21-2-386 (amended); 21-2-390 (amended); 21-2-403 (amended); 21-2-408 (amended); 21-2-414 (amended); 21-2-418 (amended); 21-2-419 (amended); 21-2-420 (new); 21-2-421 (new); 21-2-437 (amended); 21-2-438 (amended); 21-2-483 (amended); 21-2-492 (amended); 21-2-493 (amended); 21-2-501 (amended); 21-2-540 (amended); 21-2-541 (amended); 21-2-542 (amended); 21-2-546 (new); 21-2-568 (amended); 21-2-568.1 (new); 21-2-568.2 (new); 36-35-4.1 (amended); 50-13-4 (amended); 50-18-71 (amended)

Bill Number: SB 202

Act Number: 9

Georgia Laws: 2021 Ga. Laws 14

Summary: This Act primarily functions to revise elections and voting in three significant areas: voting access, ballot counting, and power and controls. With regard to voting access, the Act confines drop boxes to early voting sites, requires identification for absentee voting, changes the early voting hours, criminalizes the handing out of food and water to voters in line, moves up absentee ballot deadlines, bans voting buses, deems provisional ballots cast in the improper precinct void, restricts the mass mailing of absentee ballot request forms, removes limitations on voter eligibility challenges, and opens the potential for more voting sites when there are long lines. In terms of ballot

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counting, the Act provides for quicker election reporting times, requires that ballots appear on special paper, deems digital images of paper ballots as public records, and grants more access to poll watchers. Finally, regarding power and controls, the Act provides that state officials may replace county election boards, stipulates that a law enforcement hotline will be the point of contact for voter complaints, eliminates outside funding for elections, requires that runoff elections be held soon after general elections, and replaces free-for-all special elections with partisan races.

Effective Date: March 25, 2021

History

Coined by President Joe Biden as the "battle for the soul of the nation," the contentious 2020 presidential election that flipped Georgia blue became the driving force behind the Election Integrity Act of 2021 (the Act).¹ The Act, originally introduced in the General Assembly as Senate Bill (SB) 202, can be described disparately as either "the epitome of voter suppression" or "the embodiment of election integrity."² The dichotomous view of the bill—apparent from its party-line passage—leads to differing theories and understandings of its history.

Characterizing SB 202 as "fallout," Georgia's Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan (R) blames the bill's formation on the "ten weeks of misinformation that flew in from former President Donald Trump."³

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The bill stems from a line of previous election bills consumed by SB 202, including House Bill (HB) 531.⁴ Lieutenant Governor Duncan contends that SB 202 gained momentum in the legislature after Rudy Giuliani, a member of President Trump's legal team, appeared in committee rooms spreading misinformation.⁵ In December 2020, Giuliani caravanned around the United States seeking to overturn election results in states that favored then-President-elect Biden, including Georgia.⁶ During the seven-hour Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, Giuliani touted claims of widespread voter fraud in Georgia.⁷ Among other things, he claimed voting machines malfunctioned and voters cast tens of thousands of illegal absentee ballots.⁸ Giuliani's allegations along with rumors, such as multiple precincts counting "suitcases" of ballots, resulted in weakened confidence in the integrity of Georgia elections and ultimately...