Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 183-1-12-.07 - Preparation for Elections

1. The election superintendent shall review the electronic databases used to generate ballots for correctness and accuracy in generating paper ballots and touchscreen displays.

2. Each ballot style and touchscreen display shall be proofread by the election superintendent or a person or persons under the direction of the superintendent to check that the ballot contains the proper offices, candidates, and questions to be submitted to the voters, that the offices and names are spelled and designated correctly, that political party or body affiliations and incumbency of candidates are correctly designated where applicable, and that the questions are presented in accordance with law and this rule and that the correct offices and questions are presented on each ballot style or touchscreen display.

3. For each office up for election, the paper ballot or touchscreen display shall state the name of the office; the post, position, or person presently holding the office if necessary to identify the specific office subject to election; the number of candidates for which the voter may vote for such office; the names of the candidates; the residence address of the candidates if there has been a determination that the names are sufficiently similar to so require such information under O.C.G.A. § 21-2-379.5. In partisan elections, the paper ballot and touchscreen display shall designate the political party or body that nominated the candidate or a designation of the candidate as an independent candidate; and the designation of the incumbency of a candidate seeking reelection to the office which the candidate then holds.

4. The offices, candidates, and questions shall be listed on the ballot in the order specified in O.C.G.A. §§ 21-2-379.4 and 21-2-379.5.

5. The election superintendent shall review the audio ballot prepared for use with the touchscreen display for voters with disabilities. The superintendent shall confirm that every section of the audio ballot is pronounced correctly. The election superintendent shall also confirm that no candidate's name; political party, political body, or independent designation; incumbency; or other such information nor any referendum question or answer or response thereto is emphasized, stressed, or otherwise inflected in any manner to distinguish a particular candidate, party or body, question, answer or response to a referendum question either negatively or positively or to suggest whether to vote for or against such candidates or questions in such audio recordings.

6. The Superintendent shall check that the memory cards used in the ballot scanner are formatted and contain no extraneous software or data prior to use in an election. The ballot scanner memory cards shall be named to indicate the polling place where they will be used. If more than one ballot scanner is to be used in a single polling place, the memory card name shall differentiate between the scanners.

Notes

Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 183-1-12-.07

O.C.G.A. §§ 21-2-31, 21-2-379.4, 21-2-379.5.

Original Rule entitled "Ballot Cards, Sealed After Tabulation" adopted. F. July 24, 1968; eff. August 12, 1968. Amended: F. Oct. 20, 1975; eff. Nov. 9, 1975. Amended: F. Mar. 6, 1987; eff. Mar. 26, 1987. Repealed: F. Dec. 11, 2003; eff. Dec. 31, 2003. Amended: New Rule entitled "Preparation of the Electors List and Use of Express Poll" adopted. F. Mar. 8, 2006; eff. Mar. 28, 2006. Repealed: New Rule entitled "Preparation for Elections" adopted. F. Jan. 23, 2020; eff. Feb. 12, 2020.