Article 11. PREPARATION FOR AND CONDUCT OF PRIMARIES AND ELECTIONS  


Part 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
§ 21-2-400. Duty of superintendent to obtain cards of instruction, blank forms of oaths, and other forms and supplies; preparation and distribution of sample or facsimile ballot labels
§ 21-2-401. Delivery of forms and supplies to precincts; distribution of copy of certified electors list; contents of list; authentication; return receipts; master list of county or municipal electors; items to be provided at polling place
§ 21-2-402. Preparation of voter's certificates by Secretary of State; form of certificates; binders for certificates; other voter's certificates
§ 21-2-403. Time for opening and closing of polls
§ 21-2-404. Affording employees time off to vote
§ 21-2-405. Meeting of poll officers at place of primary or election; oaths; failure of poll officer to appear; custodians of voting materials; temporary absence or disability; poll workers working less than entire day
§ 21-2-406. Public performance of duties by officials
§ 21-2-407. Duty of registrars to review qualifications of electors who may have been erroneously omitted from list of electors; authority to place such electors on the list
§ 21-2-408. Poll watchers; designation; duties; removal for interference with election; reports by poll watchers of infractions or irregularities; ineligibility of candidates to serve as poll watchers
§ 21-2-409. Assisting electors who cannot read English or who have disabilities
§ 21-2-409.1. Voting by electors who are 75 years of age or older or disabled electors without having to wait in line
§ 21-2-410. Poll officers authorized to give instructions to electors upon request
§ 21-2-411. Return of checked list of electors and voter's certificates to superintendent; disposition of list and certificates by registrars
§ 21-2-412. Duties of superior courts on days of primaries and elections
§ 21-2-413. Conduct of voters, campaigners, and others at polling places generally
§ 21-2-414. Restrictions on campaign activities and public opinion polling within the vicinity of a polling place; cellular phone use prohibited; prohibition of candidates from entering certain polling places; penalty
§ 21-2-415. Requirements as to identification of campaign literature; unauthorized use of another's name in connection with campaign material; penalty
§ 21-2-416. Methods of casting ballots in elections utilizing paper ballots or vote recorders
§ 21-2-417. Presentation of identification to poll workers; form of proper identification; swearing of statement when unable to produce proper identification; provisional ballots for those; penalty for false statement under oath
§ 21-2-417.1. Voter identification card
§ 21-2-418. Provisional ballots
§ 21-2-419. Validation of provisional ballots; reporting to Secretary of State
Part 2. PRECINCTS USING PAPER BALLOTS
§ 21-2-430. Opening of ballot boxes; destruction of irrelevant materials; locking of ballot box; public breaking of seals; instruction cards and notices of penalties
§ 21-2-431. Execution of voter's certificate; procedure upon qualification of elector; elector unable to sign name; voting outside precinct of residence; registration as prerequisite to voting
§ 21-2-432. Voter's certificate binder as constituting official list of electors; separate preservation and disposition of refused applications
§ 21-2-433. Admission of electors to enclosed space; detachment of ballots from stubs and distribution of ballots to electors; return of canceled ballots to superintendent
§ 21-2-434. Restrictions as to removal of ballots from book or polling place; deposit of official ballots in box; disposition of unofficial ballots
§ 21-2-435. Procedure as to marking and depositing of ballots
§ 21-2-436. Duties of poll officers after the close of the polls
§ 21-2-437. Procedure as to count and return of votes generally; void ballots
§ 21-2-438. Ballots identifying voter, not marked, or improperly marked declared void
§ 21-2-439. Decisions concerning questionable marks or defaced or mutilated ballots
§ 21-2-440. Duty of poll officers to sign general returns; posting of copy of returns; delivery of copy of materials to superintendent
Part 3. PRECINCTS USING VOTING MACHINES
§ 21-2-450. Opening of polls; procedure when ballot labels misplaced; certification by managers; machines to be locked until polls open; officers to be near machines; inspection of machines; broken machines
§ 21-2-451. Execution of voter's certificate; procedure upon qualification of elector; elector unable to sign name; voting outside of precinct of residence; registration prerequisite to voting
§ 21-2-452. Admission of electors to enclosed space; voting procedure generally; procedure as to write-in votes; voting by electors whose right to vote is challenged; disabled voters
§ 21-2-453. Voter's certificate binder as constituting official list; separate preservation and return of refused applications
§ 21-2-454. Duties of poll officers after the close of the polls
§ 21-2-455. Canvass and return of votes
§ 21-2-456. Form of general return sheet, duplicate return sheets, and statement; posting of vote results; delivery of documents to superintendent; seal and return of electors list upon completion of vote count and tabulation
§ 21-2-457. Removal, storage, and examination of voting machines after completion of vote count
Part 4. PRECINCTS USING VOTE RECORDERS
§ 21-2-470 through 21-2-473.
Part 5. PRECINCTS USING OPTICAL SCANNING VOTING EQUIPMENT
§ 21-2-480. Caption for ballots; party designations; form and arrangement
§ 21-2-481. Design, size, and stock of ballots
§ 21-2-482. Absentee ballots for precincts using optical scanning voting equipment
§ 21-2-483. Counting of ballots; public accessibility to tabulating center and precincts; execution of ballot recap forms; preparation of duplicate ballots
§ 21-2-484. Requirements for ballot recap form; delivery
§ 21-2-485. Responsibilities of poll officers
§ 21-2-486. Votes for write-in candidates

REFS & ANNOS

TITLE 21 Chapter 2 Article 11 NOTE

CROSS REFERENCES. --Penalties for offenses relating to access of electors to polling places, marking of ballots, etc., §§ 21-2-566 et seq. through 21-2-579.
 
JUDICIAL DECISIONS
 
EDITOR'S NOTES. --In light of the similarity of the provisions, decisions under former Code 1933, Ch. 34-32 are included in the annotations for this article.
 
APPLICABILITY OF STATE STATUTES ON PARTY PRIMARY. --Whenever a political party holds a primary in this state, it is by law an integral part of the election machinery. Once a decision to hold a primary is made, state statutes take hold and direct every essential step from registration and qualification of voters to the placing of the names of the nominees on the general election ballot. King v. Chapman, 62 F. Supp. 639 (M.D. Ga. 1945), aff'd, 154 F.2d 460 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 327 U.S. 800, 66 S. Ct. 905, 90 L. Ed. 1025 (1946) (decided under former Code 1933, Ch. 34-32).
   It is still the general law of this state that every such primary election shall be held at the time and place and under the regulations prescribed by the rules of the political party holding the primary, and the return shall be made and the result declared as prescribed by law. Studstill v. Gary, 216 Ga. 268, 116 S.E.2d 213 (1960) (decided under former Code 1933, Ch. 34-32).
 
OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
 
EDITOR'S NOTES. --In light of the similarity of the provisions, opinions under former Ga. L. 1960, p. 115, § 1, are included in the annotations for this section.
 
COUNTY PRIMARY SOLELY FOR NOMINATING HOUSE CANDIDATE LEGAL. --It is legal for a county executive committee to hold a county primary solely for the purpose of nominating a candidate for membership in the House of Representatives, irrespective of the fact that no candidate for county office is to be nominated in the primary. 1962 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 214 (decided under Ga. L. 1960, p. 115, § 1).