Title 21 — Elections
5 chapters · 451 sections in this title.
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-261.1 Boundary requirements for precincts
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(a) All voting precincts established or altered under the provisions of this article shall consist of areas which are bounded on all sides only by:(1) Visible features which are readily distinguishable upon the ground (such as streets, railroad tracks, streams, lakes, and ridges)…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-262 Investigation as to division, redivision, alteration, formation, or consolidation of precincts; petition of electors or board of registrars
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(a) The superintendent may upon his or her own motion direct the board of registrars to investigate the division or redivision of a precinct into two or more precincts, or the alteration of the bounds of any precinct, or the formation of one or more precincts out of two or more e…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-263 Reduction in size of, or provision of additional voting equipment or poll workers to, precincts containing more than 2,000 electors when voting in such precincts at previous general election not completed one hour after closing of polls
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(a) If, at the previous general election, a precinct contained more than 2,000 electors and if all those electors desiring to vote had not completed voting one hour following the closing of the polls, the superintendent shall either reduce the size of said precinct so that it sha…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-264 Reimbursement of counties and municipalities for costs incurred pursuant to alteration of precinct boundaries
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In all cases of the division, redivision, alteration, formation, or consolidation of precincts, the costs of the proceedings shall be paid by the county or municipal governing authority, as appropriate. There may be appropriated to the Secretary of State funds to be granted to co…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-265 Selection of polling places; change; notice; objection; facilities for disabled voters; selection of polling places outside precinct; restriction on changes close to election date
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(a) The superintendent of a county or the governing authority of a municipality shall select and fix the polling place within each precinct and may, either on his, her, or its own motion or on petition of ten electors of a precinct, change the polling place within any precinct. E…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-266 Polling places and advance voting locations — Use of public buildings; use of portable or movable facilities; unrestricted access to residential communities
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(a) In selecting polling places and advance voting locations, the superintendent of a county or the governing authority of a municipality shall select, wherever practicable and consistent with subsection (d) of Code Section 21-2-265, schoolhouses, municipal buildings or rooms, or…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-267 Polling places — Equipment; arrangement; storage
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(a) The governing authority of each county and municipality shall provide and the superintendent shall cause all rooms used as polling places to be provided with suitable heat and light and, in precincts in which ballots are used, with a sufficient number of voting compartments o…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-268 Compensation for rent, heat, light, and janitorial services
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The superintendent or county or municipal governing authority shall fix the compensation for rent, heat, light, and janitorial services to be paid for the use of polling places for primaries and elections; provided, however, that no compensation for rent, heat, or light shall be …
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-269 Construction of rooms for use as temporary polling places
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If, in any precinct, no proper polling place can be obtained, the superintendent shall cause to be constructed for such precinct a temporary room of adequate size to be used as a polling place.
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-270 County-wide polling place in certain run-off primaries
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(a) This Code section shall apply to a run-off primary held in a county where:(1) No run-off election is to be held for election of any candidate who is elected at a nonpartisan election;(2) A run-off primary is to be held for nomination of one or more candidates who are nominate…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-280 Requirement as to conduct of primaries and elections by ballot; requirement as to use of official ballots only
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All primaries and elections in this state shall be conducted by ballot, except when voting machines are used as provided by law. A ballot may be electronic or printed on paper. All ballots used in any primary or election shall be provided by the superintendent or municipal govern…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-281 Voting by paper ballot when use of voting equipment impossible or impracticable
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In any primary or election in which the use of voting equipment is impossible or impracticable, for the reasons set out in Code Section 21-2-334, the primary or election may be conducted by paper ballot in the manner provided in Code Section 21-2-334.
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-282 [Reserved] Voting by paper ballot when use of vote recorders impossible or impracticable
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O.C.G.A. § 21-2-282Current through Act 375 of the 2026 Regular Session of the General Assembly but not including corrections and changes made by the Office of Legislative Counsel.HistoryGa. L. 1998, p. 295, § 1; repealed by Ga. L. 2002, p. 598, § 2-4, effective April 1, 2003.Offi…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-283 Printing and safekeeping of ballots and labels by superintendent
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In any primary or election, the superintendent or municipal governing authority shall cause all the ballots and ballot labels to be printed accurately and in the form prescribed by this chapter, and the superintendent or municipal governing authority shall be responsible for the …
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-283.1 Ballot proof check and review procedures
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(a) As used in this Code section, the term “ballot proof” means a draft version of a proposed official ballot that is reviewed by a superintendent or candidate to ensure the accuracy of the information contained on the final official ballot used in an election. (b) In any primary…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-284 Form of official primary ballot; attestation regarding receiving value in exchange for vote
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(a) In each primary separate official ballots shall be prepared for the political party holding the primary. At the top of each ballot shall be printed in prominent type the words “OFFICIAL PRIMARY BALLOT OF PARTY FOR,” followed by the name and designation of the precinct for whi…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-284.1 Nonpartisan municipal primary ballot form
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(1) In the case of nonpartisan municipal primaries, the form of the official nonpartisan primary ballot shall conform insofar as practicable to the form of the official primary ballot as detailed in Code Section 21-2-284 including the printing of the name and designation of the p…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-285 Form of official election ballot; attestation on receipt of benefit in exchange for vote; when an election is not required
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(a) At the top of each ballot for an election shall be printed in prominent type the words “OFFICIAL BALLOT,” followed by the name and designation of the precinct for which it is prepared and the name and date of the election. (b) (1) Directions that explain how to cast a vote an…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-285.1 Nonpartisan elections ballot form; run-off election; declaration of prevailing candidate as duly elected
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The names of all candidates for offices which the General Assembly has by general law or local Act provided for election in a nonpartisan election shall be printed on each official primary ballot; and insofar as practicable such offices to be filled in the nonpartisan election sh…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-286 Printing specifications, numbering, and binding of ballots
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(a) In any primary or election, the superintendent shall cause the ballots to be printed in the form prescribed by this chapter. (b) (1) Paper ballots other than those printed for optical scanning voting systems shall be at least six inches long and four inches wide and shall hav…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-287 Form of absentee ballot
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The form for the absentee ballot shall be in substantially the same form as the official ballots used in the precincts, except it shall be printed with only the name stub and without a number strip and shall have the precinct name and designation printed or stamped thereon.
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-288 Procedure as to printing of ballots when candidates for same nomination or office have same or similar names
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If two or more candidates for the same nomination or office shall have the same or similar names, the Secretary of State, in the case of federal or state offices, the superintendent of elections, in the case of county offices, or the official with whom such candidates qualify, in…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-289 Printing on ballots of names of substitute candidates
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As soon as any substitute candidate has been duly nominated by his or her political party or body pursuant to Code Section 21-2-134, at any time prior to the day on which the printing of ballots is started, his or her name shall be substituted in place of that of the candidate wh…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-290 Superintendent to provide number of ballots equal to number of registered electors in precinct
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The superintendent shall provide, for each precinct in which a primary or election is to be held, a sufficient number of ballots equal to the number of active registered electors.
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-291 Procedure as to unopposed candidates
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Any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, in the event there is no opposed candidate in a precinct in a special or general election, no special or general election shall be held in such precinct unless a write-in candidate has qualified as provided by law or unl…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-292 Duty of superintendent to have forms of ballots on file for public inspection prior to election
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The superintendent shall have on file in his or her office open to public inspection, at least five days prior to the day of holding each primary and election, forms of the ballots, with the names and such statements and notations printed thereon as may be required by this chapte…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-293 Correction of mistakes and omissions on ballot
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(a) If the election superintendent discovers that a mistake or omission has occurred in the printing of official ballots or in the programming of the display of the official ballot on DRE voting equipment or electronic ballot markers for any primary or election, the superintenden…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-294 Responsibility of superintendent for recording number of ballots furnished and number of stubs, unused ballots, and canceled ballots returned
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The superintendent shall keep a record of the number of official ballots printed and furnished to each precinct at each primary and election and of the number of stubs, unused ballots, and canceled ballots subsequently returned therefrom.
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-300 Provision of new voting equipment by state; uniform system using ballot scanners; pilot programs; county obligations; use of physical ballots
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(a) (1) The equipment used for casting and counting votes in county, state, and federal elections shall be the same in each county in this state and shall be provided to each county by the state, as determined by the Secretary of State.(2) As soon as possible, once such equipment…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-301 [Repealed] Pilot program; testing and evaluation of electronic voting systems; creation of Twenty-first Century Voting Commission
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O.C.G.A. § 21-2-301Current through Act 375 of the 2026 Regular Session of the General Assembly but not including corrections and changes made by the Office of Legislative Counsel.HistoryCode 1981, § 21-2-301, enacted by Ga. L. 2001, p. 269, § 19; Ga. L. 2003, p. 151, § 1; repeale…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-310 Definitions
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(1) As used in this article, the term:(1) “Candidate counters” or “question counters” means the counters which numerically register the votes cast for candidates and on questions, respectively.(2) “Diagram” means an illustration of the official ballot showing the names of the par…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-320 Power of municipal governing authority to authorize use of and to procure voting machines
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The governing authority of any municipality may at any regular meeting or at a special meeting called for the purpose, by a majority vote, authorize and direct the use of voting machines for recording and computing the vote at all elections held in the municipality; and thereupon…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-321 Referendum on question of use of voting machines
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(a) The governing authority of any municipality which conducts elections by paper ballot may, upon its own motion, submit to the electors of the municipality, at any election, the question: “Shall voting machines be used in ?” (b) The governing authority of any municipality which…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-322 General requirements as to voting machines
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(1) No voting machine shall be adopted or used unless it shall, at the time, satisfy the following requirements:(1) It shall provide facilities for voting for such candidates as may be nominated and upon such questions as may be submitted;(2) It shall permit each elector, in one …
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-323 Installation of voting machines; discontinuance of use of paper ballots; minimum number; different types; requirements as to working order and capacity
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(a) When the use of voting machines has been authorized in the manner prescribed by Code Section 21-2-320 or 21-2-321, such voting machines shall be installed, either simultaneously or gradually, within the municipality. Upon the installation of voting machines in any precinct, t…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-324 Examination and approval of voting machines by Secretary of State; appointment and compensation of examiners; revocation of approval; written verification and certification prior to election or primary; penalties; conflicts of interest
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(a) Any person or organization owning, manufacturing, or selling, or being interested in the manufacture or sale of, any voting machine may request the Secretary of State to examine the machine. Any ten or more electors of this state may, at any time, request the Secretary of Sta…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-325 Form of ballot labels generally
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(a) The ballot labels shall be printed in black ink upon clear, white, or pastel colored material, of such size as will fit the ballot frame, and in plain, clear type so as to be easily readable by persons with normal vision. (b) If the construction of the machine shall require i…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-325.1 Candidates with same or similar names
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If two or more candidates for the same nomination or office shall have the same or similar names, the Secretary of State, in the case of federal or state offices, the superintendent of elections, in the case of county offices, or the official with whom such candidates qualify, in…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-326 Unofficial ballot labels
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(a) If ballot labels for a precinct at which a voting machine is to be used are not delivered to the poll officers as required by this chapter, the chief manager of such precinct shall cause other labels to be prepared, printed, or written, as nearly in the form of official ballo…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-327 Preparation of voting machines; custodians and their deputies; inspection; furnishing of supplies
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(a) The superintendent of each municipality shall cause the proper ballot labels to be placed on each voting machine which is to be used in any precinct within such municipality, cause each machine to be placed in proper order for voting, examine each machine before it is sent ou…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-328 Delivery, set up, and sealing of properly furnished voting machines prior to primary or election; protection of voting machines against molestation or injury
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(a) The superintendent shall deliver the proper voting machine or voting machines, properly furnished with ballot labels, to the polling places of the respective precincts at least one hour before the time set for opening the polls at each primary or election and shall cause each…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-329 Delivery of voting machine keys to chief manager
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(1) The superintendent shall deliver the keys which unlock the operating mechanism and the registering counters or counter compartment of the voting machine to the chief manager not later than one hour before the time set for the opening of the polls and shall take his or her rec…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-330 Public exhibition of and instruction on sample voting machine
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(a) During the five days preceding a municipal general primary or election or during the three days preceding a municipal special primary or election, the superintendent shall place on public exhibition, in such public places and at such times as he or she may deem most suitable …
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-331 Designation and compensation of custodians of voting machines and keys; storage of voting machines when not in use
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(a) The municipal governing authority shall designate a person or persons who shall have the custody of the voting machines of the municipality and the keys therefor when the machines are not in use at a primary or election and shall provide for his or her compensation and for th…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-332 Use of portable polling facilities
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In precincts in which voting machines are used, the superintendent may, in his or her discretion, procure and provide portable polling facilities of adequate size for any or all of such precincts.
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-333 Responsibility of municipal governing authority to provide for payment for voting machines; issuance of bonds or other indebtedness to meet costs
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The governing authority of any municipality which adopts voting machines in a manner provided for by this article shall, upon the purchase of voting machines, provide for their payment by the municipality. Bonds or other evidence of indebtedness may be issued in accordance with t…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-334 Voting by paper ballot when use of voting machine impossible or impracticable
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If a method of nomination or election for any candidate or office, or of voting on any question is prescribed by law, in which the use of voting machines is not possible or practicable, or in case, at any primary or election, the number of candidates seeking nomination or nominat…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-365 Requirements for use of optical scanning voting systems
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(1) No optical scanning voting system shall be adopted or used unless it shall, at the time, satisfy the following requirements:(1) It shall provide facilities for voting for such candidates as may be nominated and upon such questions as may be submitted;(2) It shall permit each …
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-366 Authorization for utilization of optical scanning systems
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The governing authority of any county or municipality may, at any regular meeting or at a special meeting called for the purpose, by a majority vote authorize and direct the use of optical scanning voting systems for recording and computing the vote at elections held in the count…
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-367 Installation of systems; number of systems; good working order
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(a) When the use of optical scanning voting systems has been authorized in the manner prescribed in this part, such optical scanning voting systems shall be installed, either simultaneously or gradually, within the county or municipality. (b) (1) In each precinct in which optical…