| 1 | 1 | | 23 LC 47 2147 |
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| 2 | 2 | | S. B. 122 |
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| 3 | 3 | | - 1 - |
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| 4 | 4 | | Senate Bill 122 |
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| 5 | 5 | | By: Senators Kirkpatrick of the 32nd, Burns of the 23rd, Anavitarte of the 31st, Gooch of the |
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| 6 | 6 | | 51st, Watson of the 11th and others |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | To amend Chapter 2 of Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to |
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| 10 | 10 | | 1 |
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| 11 | 11 | | primaries and elections generally, so as to provide for the qualifications of members of2 |
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| 12 | 12 | | performance review boards; to provide for ballots and ballot labels to be securely stored; to3 |
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| 13 | 13 | | provide for construction; to revise provisions related to the retention and preservation of4 |
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| 14 | 14 | | ballots and other election documents; to remove provisions for keeping such ballots and5 |
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| 15 | 15 | | documents under seal; to provide for electronic document inspection upon certification of6 |
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| 16 | 16 | | election results; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other7 |
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| 17 | 17 | | purposes.8 |
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| 18 | 18 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:9 |
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| 19 | 19 | | SECTION 1.10 |
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| 20 | 20 | | Chapter 2 of Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to primaries and11 |
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| 21 | 21 | | elections generally, is amended in Code Section 21-2-106, relating to performance review12 |
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| 22 | 22 | | of local election official, role of performance review board, and findings as grounds for13 |
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| 23 | 23 | | removal, by revising subsection (a) as follows:14 |
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| 24 | 24 | | "(a) The following officials may request that a performance review of a local election15 |
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| 25 | 25 | | official be conducted:16 |
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| 26 | 26 | | (1) The governing authority of the same jurisdiction as the local election official;17 23 LC 47 2147 |
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| 27 | 27 | | S. B. 122 |
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| 28 | 28 | | - 2 - |
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| 29 | 29 | | (2) For counties represented by more than three members of the Georgia House of |
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| 30 | 30 | | 18 |
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| 31 | 31 | | Representatives and Georgia Senate, at least two members of the Georgia House of19 |
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| 32 | 32 | | Representatives and two members of the Georgia Senate who represent the county; and20 |
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| 33 | 33 | | (3) For counties represented by fewer than four members of the Georgia House of21 |
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| 34 | 34 | | Representatives and Georgia Senate, at least one member of the Georgia House of22 |
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| 35 | 35 | | Representatives and one member of the Georgia Senate who represent the county.23 |
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| 36 | 36 | | Such request shall be transmitted to the State Election Board which shall appoint an24 |
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| 37 | 37 | | independent performance review board within 30 days after receiving such resolution. The25 |
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| 38 | 38 | | State Election Board shall appoint three competent persons to serve as members of the26 |
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| 39 | 39 | | performance review board, one of whom shall be an employee of the elections division of27 |
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| 40 | 40 | | the Secretary of State and two of whom shall be local election officials, |
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| 41 | 41 | | or members of a28 |
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| 42 | 42 | | county board of elections or county board of elections and registration, provided that no29 |
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| 43 | 43 | | such appointee shall be a local election official or member of a county board of elections30 |
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| 44 | 44 | | or county board of elections and registration for the county or municipality, as applicable,31 |
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| 45 | 45 | | under review."32 |
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| 46 | 46 | | SECTION 2.33 |
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| 47 | 47 | | Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 21-2-283, relating to printing and34 |
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| 48 | 48 | | safekeeping of ballots and labels by superintendent, as follows:35 |
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| 49 | 49 | | "21-2-283.36 |
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| 50 | 50 | | In any primary or election, the superintendent or municipal governing authority shall cause37 |
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| 51 | 51 | | all the ballots and ballot labels to be printed accurately and in the form prescribed by this38 |
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| 52 | 52 | | chapter, and securely stored and protected from unauthorized access. Access to the secure39 |
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| 53 | 53 | | space where the ballots are located shall be limited to the county election superintendent;40 |
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| 54 | 54 | | members of the county board of elections; the election supervisor, if any; personnel of the41 |
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| 55 | 55 | | county election superintendent's office designated by the county election superintendent;42 |
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| 56 | 56 | | building maintenance personnel; emergency personnel; and law enforcement personnel43 23 LC 47 2147 |
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| 57 | 57 | | S. B. 122 |
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| 58 | 58 | | - 3 - |
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| 59 | 59 | | during the course of active investigations. Building maintenance personnel shall have44 |
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| 60 | 60 | | access to the area where such items are stored only to the extent necessary to carry out their45 |
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| 61 | 61 | | maintenance duties. Emergency personnel shall have access to the room in which the46 |
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| 62 | 62 | | election management system is located as necessary in the event of an emergency and only47 |
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| 63 | 63 | | for the duration of such emergency conditions, and the superintendent or municipal48 |
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| 64 | 64 | | governing authority shall be responsible for the safekeeping of the same while in his or her49 |
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| 65 | 65 | | or its possession or that of his or her or its agent. The superintendent or municipal50 |
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| 66 | 66 | | governing authority shall keep a record of the number of official ballots printed and51 |
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| 67 | 67 | | furnished to each precinct at each primary and election and the number of stubs, unused52 |
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| 68 | 68 | | ballots, and canceled ballots subsequently returned therefrom. When unvoted blank ballots53 |
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| 69 | 69 | | are transported to and from precincts, the ballots shall be securely stored in sealed54 |
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| 70 | 70 | | containers which are accompanied by ballot transfer forms signed by at least two55 |
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| 71 | 71 | | individuals so as to serve as an integrated chain of custody; such forms shall be provided56 |
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| 72 | 72 | | by the Secretary of State."57 |
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| 73 | 73 | | SECTION 3.58 |
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| 74 | 74 | | Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 21-2-496, relating to preparation59 |
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| 75 | 75 | | and filing by superintendent of four copies of consolidated return of primary, electronic60 |
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| 76 | 76 | | filing, and superintendent to furnish final copy of each ballot used for primary, as follows:61 |
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| 77 | 77 | | "21-2-496.62 |
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| 78 | 78 | | (a) Each county and municipal superintendent shall prepare four copies of the consolidated63 |
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| 79 | 79 | | return of the primary to be certified by the superintendent on forms furnished by the64 |
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| 80 | 80 | | Secretary of State, such consolidated returns to be filed immediately upon certification as65 |
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| 81 | 81 | | follows:66 |
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| 82 | 82 | | (1) One copy to be posted at the office of the election superintendent for the information67 |
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| 83 | 83 | | of the public;68 |
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| 84 | 84 | | (2) One copy to be filed in the superintendent's office;69 23 LC 47 2147 |
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| 85 | 85 | | S. B. 122 |
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| 86 | 86 | | - 4 - |
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| 87 | 87 | | (3) One copy to be forwarded to the Secretary of State together with a copy of each |
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| 88 | 88 | | 70 |
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| 89 | 89 | | precinct return, the numbered list of voters of each precinct, and the returns and the71 |
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| 90 | 90 | | numbered list of voters for absentee electors; and72 |
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| 91 | 91 | | (4) One copy to be sealed and |
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| 92 | 92 | | filed with the clerk of the superior court, in the case of a73 |
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| 93 | 93 | | county election, or with the city clerk, in the case of a municipal election, as required by74 |
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| 94 | 94 | | Code Section 21-2-500.75 |
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| 95 | 95 | | (b) The Secretary of State is authorized to provide a method by which the election76 |
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| 96 | 96 | | superintendent can file the results of primaries and elections electronically. Once the77 |
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| 97 | 97 | | Secretary of State provides such a method of filing, the election superintendent shall file78 |
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| 98 | 98 | | a copy of the election returns electronically in the manner prescribed by the Secretary of79 |
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| 99 | 99 | | State in addition to the filing provided in subsection (a) of this Code section. The Secretary80 |
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| 100 | 100 | | of State is authorized to promulgate such rules and regulations as necessary to provide for81 |
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| 101 | 101 | | such an electronic filing.82 |
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| 102 | 102 | | (c) Each county and municipal superintendent shall, upon certification, furnish to the83 |
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| 103 | 103 | | Secretary of State in a manner determined by the Secretary of State a final copy of each84 |
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| 104 | 104 | | ballot used for such primary."85 |
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| 105 | 105 | | SECTION 4.86 |
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| 106 | 106 | | Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 21-2-497, relating to preparation87 |
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| 107 | 107 | | and filing by superintendent of four copies of consolidated return of elections, and88 |
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| 108 | 108 | | superintendent to furnish final copy of each ballot used for election, as follows:89 |
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| 109 | 109 | | "21-2-497.90 |
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| 110 | 110 | | (a) Each county and municipal superintendent shall prepare four copies of the consolidated91 |
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| 111 | 111 | | return of the election to be certified by the superintendent on forms furnished by the92 |
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| 112 | 112 | | Secretary of State, such consolidated returns to be filed immediately upon certification as93 |
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| 113 | 113 | | follows:94 23 LC 47 2147 |
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| 114 | 114 | | S. B. 122 |
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| 115 | 115 | | - 5 - |
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| 116 | 116 | | (1) One copy to be posted at the office of the election superintendent for the information |
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| 117 | 117 | | 95 |
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| 118 | 118 | | of the public;96 |
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| 119 | 119 | | (2) One copy to be filed and recorded as a permanent record in the minutes of the97 |
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| 120 | 120 | | superintendent's office;98 |
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| 121 | 121 | | (3) One copy to be sealed and |
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| 122 | 122 | | filed with the clerk of the superior court, in the case of a99 |
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| 123 | 123 | | county election, or with the city clerk, in the case of a municipal election, as required by100 |
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| 124 | 124 | | Code Section 21-2-500; and101 |
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| 125 | 125 | | (4) One copy to be returned immediately to the Secretary of State unless required as102 |
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| 126 | 126 | | follows:103 |
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| 127 | 127 | | (A) In the case of election of federal and state officers, a separate return showing totals104 |
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| 128 | 128 | | of the votes cast for each of such officers respectively shall be forwarded by the105 |
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| 129 | 129 | | superintendent to the Secretary of State on forms furnished by the Secretary of State;106 |
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| 130 | 130 | | (B) In the case of referendum elections provided for by an Act of the General107 |
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| 131 | 131 | | Assembly, the returns shall immediately be certified by the authority holding such108 |
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| 132 | 132 | | election to the Secretary of State, along with the precinct returns and numbered list of109 |
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| 133 | 133 | | voters for each precinct. In addition thereto, the official citation of the Act involved110 |
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| 134 | 134 | | and the purpose of such election shall be sent to the Secretary of State at the same time.111 |
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| 135 | 135 | | The Secretary of State shall maintain a permanent record of such certifications;112 |
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| 136 | 136 | | (C) In the case of elections on constitutional amendments, the returns shall be certified113 |
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| 137 | 137 | | immediately to the Secretary of State. Upon receiving the certified returns from the114 |
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| 138 | 138 | | various superintendents, the Secretary of State shall immediately proceed to canvass115 |
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| 139 | 139 | | and tabulate the votes cast on such amendments and certify the results to the Governor;116 |
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| 140 | 140 | | and117 |
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| 141 | 141 | | (D) In the case of election for presidential electors, a separate return shall be prepared118 |
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| 142 | 142 | | by each superintendent and certified immediately to the Secretary of State.119 23 LC 47 2147 |
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| 143 | 143 | | S. B. 122 |
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| 144 | 144 | | - 6 - |
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| 145 | 145 | | (b) Each county and municipal superintendent shall, upon certification, furnish to the |
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| 146 | 146 | | 120 |
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| 147 | 147 | | Secretary of State in a manner determined by the Secretary of State a final copy of each121 |
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| 148 | 148 | | ballot used for such election."122 |
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| 149 | 149 | | SECTION 5.123 |
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| 150 | 150 | | Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 21-2-500, relating to delivery of124 |
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| 151 | 151 | | voting materials, presentation to grand jury in certain cases, preservation and destruction, and125 |
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| 152 | 152 | | destruction of unused ballots, as follows:126 |
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| 153 | 153 | | "21-2-500.127 |
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| 154 | 154 | | (a) Immediately upon completing the returns required by this article, in the case of128 |
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| 155 | 155 | | elections other than municipal elections, the superintendent shall deliver in sealed129 |
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| 156 | 156 | | containers to the clerk of the superior court or, if designated by the clerk of the superior130 |
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| 157 | 157 | | court, to the county records manager or other office or officer under the jurisdiction of a131 |
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| 158 | 158 | | county governing authority which maintains or is responsible for records, as provided in132 |
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| 159 | 159 | | Code Section 50-18-99, the used and void ballots and the stubs of all ballots used; one copy133 |
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| 160 | 160 | | of the oaths of poll officers; and one copy of each numbered list of voters, tally paper,134 |
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| 161 | 161 | | voting machine paper proof sheet, and return sheet involved in the primary or election. In135 |
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| 162 | 162 | | addition, the superintendent shall deliver copies of the voting machine ballot labels,136 |
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| 163 | 163 | | computer chips containing ballot tabulation programs, copies of computer records of ballot137 |
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| 164 | 164 | | design, and similar items or an electronic record of the program by which votes are to be138 |
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| 165 | 165 | | recorded or tabulated, which is captured prior to the election, and which is stored on some139 |
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| 166 | 166 | | alternative medium such as a CD-ROM or floppy disk simultaneously with the140 |
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| 167 | 167 | | programming of the PROM or other memory storage device. The clerk, county records141 |
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| 168 | 168 | | manager, or the office or officer designated by the clerk shall hold |
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| 169 | 169 | | retain and preserve such142 |
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| 170 | 170 | | ballots and other documents for at least 24 months under seal, unless otherwise directed by143 |
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| 171 | 171 | | the superior court, in a manner so as to prevent such ballots or other documents from being144 |
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| 172 | 172 | | altered, amended, damaged, modified, or mutilated, after which time they shall be145 23 LC 47 2147 |
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| 173 | 173 | | S. B. 122 |
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| 174 | 174 | | - 7 - |
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| 175 | 175 | | presented to the grand jury for inspection at its next meeting. Such ballots and other |
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| 176 | 176 | | 146 |
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| 177 | 177 | | documents shall be retained and |
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| 178 | 178 | | preserved in the office of the clerk, county records147 |
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| 179 | 179 | | manager, or officer designated by the clerk until the adjournment of such grand jury, and148 |
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| 180 | 180 | | then they may be destroyed, unless otherwise provided by order of the superior court.149 |
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| 181 | 181 | | (a.1) Upon certification of all matters on the ballot in a particular election, all such150 |
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| 182 | 182 | | documents from such election shall be subject to electronic inspection pursuant to Code151 |
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| 183 | 183 | | Section 21-2-72, provided that such electronic documents are high resolution images of no152 |
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| 184 | 184 | | less than 300 pixels per inch.153 |
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| 185 | 185 | | (b) The superintendent shall retain all unused ballots for 30 days after the election or154 |
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| 186 | 186 | | primary and, if no challenge or contest is filed prior to or during that period that could155 |
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| 187 | 187 | | require future use of such ballots, may thereafter destroy such unused ballots. If a156 |
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| 188 | 188 | | challenge or contest is filed during that period that could require the use of such ballots,157 |
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| 189 | 189 | | they shall be retained until the final disposition of the challenge or contest and, if remaining158 |
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| 190 | 190 | | unused, may thereafter be destroyed.159 |
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| 191 | 191 | | (c) Immediately upon completing the returns required by this article, the municipal160 |
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| 192 | 192 | | superintendent shall deliver in sealed containers to the city clerk the used and void ballots161 |
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| 193 | 193 | | and the stubs of all ballots used; one copy of the oaths of poll officers; and one copy of162 |
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| 194 | 194 | | each numbered list of voters, tally paper, voting machine paper proof sheet, and return163 |
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| 195 | 195 | | sheet involved in the primary or election. In addition, the municipal superintendent shall164 |
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| 196 | 196 | | deliver copies of the voting machine ballot labels, computer chips containing ballot165 |
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| 197 | 197 | | tabulation programs, copies of computer records of ballot design, and similar items or an166 |
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| 198 | 198 | | electronic record of the program by which votes are to be recorded or tabulated, which is167 |
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| 199 | 199 | | captured prior to the election, and which is stored on some alternative medium such as a168 |
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| 200 | 200 | | CD-ROM or floppy disk simultaneously with the programming of the PROM or other169 |
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| 201 | 201 | | memory storage device. Such ballots and other documents shall be retained and preserved170 |
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| 202 | 202 | | under seal in the office of the city clerk for at least 24 months; and then they may be171 |
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| 203 | 203 | | destroyed unless otherwise provided by order of the mayor and council if a contest has172 23 LC 47 2147 |
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| 204 | 204 | | S. B. 122 |
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| 205 | 205 | | - 8 - |
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| 206 | 206 | | been filed or by court order, provided that the electors list, voter's certificates, and duplicate |
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| 207 | 207 | | 173 |
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| 208 | 208 | | oaths of assisted electors shall be immediately returned by the superintendent to the county174 |
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| 209 | 209 | | registrar."175 |
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| 210 | 210 | | SECTION 6.176 |
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| 211 | 211 | | All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.177 |
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