Georgia § 21-2-379-23-d-1 [Effective 7/1/2026] Requirements for ballot display; official ballot for vote tabulation, recount, and audit

Georgia Statutes

§ 21-2-379-23-d-1 — [Effective 7/1/2026] Requirements for ballot display; official ballot for vote tabulation, recount, and audit

Georgia § 21-2-379-23-d-1

Title21

This text of Georgia § 21-2-379-23-d-1 ([Effective 7/1/2026] Requirements for ballot display; official ballot for vote tabulation, recount, and audit) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

O.C.G.A. § 21-2-379-23-d-1 (2026).

Text

(a)The ballot display information and appearance on an electronic ballot marker shall conform as nearly as practicable to Code Sections 21-2-379.4 and 21-2-379.5 .

(b)The form and arrangement of ballots marked and printed by an electronic ballot marker shall be prescribed by the Secretary of State; provided, however, that such ballots shall be printed on security paper that incorporates features which can be used to authenticate the ballot as an official ballot but which do not make the ballot identifiable to a particular elector; provided, further, that at least one such feature is a visible watermark that identifies the ballot as an official Georgia ballot.

(c)Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, ballots marked and printed by an electronic ballot marker shall, at a minimum,

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(a) The ballot display information and appearance on an electronic ballot marker shall conform as nearly as practicable to Code Sections 21-2-379.4 and 21-2-379.5 . (b) The form and arrangement of ballots marked and printed by an electronic ballot marker shall be prescribed by the Secretary of State; provided, however, that such ballots shall be printed on security paper that incorporates features which can be used to authenticate the ballot as an official ballot but which do not make the ballot identifiable to a particular elector; provided, further, that at least one such feature is a visible watermark that identifies the ballot as an official Georgia ballot. (c) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, ballots marked and printed by an electronic ballot marker shall, at a minimum, contain: (1) The words "OFFICIAL BALLOT"; (2) The name and date of the election; (3) The titles of the respective offices for which the elector is eligible to vote; (4) Words identifying the proposed constitutional amendments or other questions for which the elector is eligible to vote; (5) The name of the candidate and, for partisan offices, indication of the candidate's political party or political body affiliation, or the answer to the proposed constitutional amendment or other question for which the elector intends to vote; and (6) Clear indication that the elector has not marked a vote for any particular office, constitutional amendment, or other question. (d) The text portion of the paper ballot marked and printed by the electronic ballot marker indicating the elector's selection shall constitute the official ballot and shall constitute the official vote for purposes of vote tabulation, any recount conducted pursuant to Code Section 21-2-495 , and any audit conducted pursuant to Code Section 21-2-498 . The official tabulation count of any ballot scanner shall be based upon the text portion or the machine mark, provided that such mark clearly denotes the elector's selection and does not use a QR code, bar code, or similar coding, of such ballots and not any machine coding that may be printed on such ballots. (e) Each ballot printed by an electronic ballot marker shall include the name and designation of the precinct at the top. This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.

Legislative History

Amended by 2024 Ga. Laws 697,§ 7, eff. 7/1/2026. Amended by 2024 Ga. Laws 589,§ 2, eff. 7/1/2024. Amended by 2021 Ga. Laws 9,§ 23A, eff. 3/25/2021. Added by 2019 Ga. Laws 24,§ 26, eff. 4/2/2019.