Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 183-1-14-.05 - State Write-In Absentee Ballot
(a) The Secretary of State shall design a
state write-in absentee ballot for use in runoff primaries and runoff elections
by an elector of this state who resides outside the county or the municipality
in which the election is being conducted and is:
(1) a member of the armed forces of the
United States, a member of the merchant marine of the United States, a member
of the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service or the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, or a spouse or dependent of such member
residing with or accompanying said member; or
(2) A citizen of the United States residing
outside the United States.
(b) Such state write-in absentee ballot shall
be designed in such a manner as to permit the person voting such ballot to
write-in the name of a candidate or candidates for state offices that are
elected on a state-wide basis and for all federal offices in a runoff primary
or runoff election. Such state write-in ballot shall automatically be included
with any absentee ballot sent to such eligible electors for any general primary
or general election. No special request for such ballot shall be required in
such circumstances.
(c) Such ballot
shall either have attached to or have included with such ballot two envelopes.
One envelope shall have printed on such envelope the words "Official State
Write-In Absentee Ballot" and nothing else. The other envelope shall be
designed such that the first envelope will fit inside it and shall have printed
on one side the absentee elector oath and the other side shall contain a place
for the elector to address the ballot to the appropriate board of registrars or
board of elections and registration in this state for mailing.
(d) The Secretary of State shall prepare and
print instructions for completing and returning such ballot that shall also be
enclosed with such ballot. The state write-in absentee ballot, the envelopes
for returning it, and the instructions shall be enclosed with the regular
absentee ballot, envelopes, and instructions for completing and returning the
regular absentee ballot.
(e) Such
ballots shall be made available in a downloadable electronic form on the
Secretary of State's website as well as in printed form. Additionally, the
Secretary of State and the county registrars shall provide for the transmission
of such blank ballots by facsimile transmission and electronic mail
transmission to electors. Instructions for voting such ballots shall be
included on the website and shall accompany any facsimile and electronic mail
ballot transmissions. Voted ballots shall not be returned by facsimile or
electronic mail.
(f) As soon as
practicable after a general primary or general election, the Secretary of State
shall cause to be published on the official website of the Secretary of State a
list of all federal offices and state offices in which there will be a runoff
primary or runoff election, as the case may be, along with the names of the
candidates who will be on the ballot in such runoff.
(g) If an elector obtains the ballot by
facsimile or by downloading from electronic mail or the Secretary of State's
website, the elector shall return the ballot by mail using two envelopes. The
elector shall enclose and seal the ballot in a plain envelope and insert that
envelope into another envelope for transmission to the registrars. The elector
shall copy and sign the appropriate oath onto the back of the outer envelope.
The Secretary of State shall provide a sample envelope and oath form on the
Secretary of State's website in such a manner that such form may be used by an
elector to print out the forms for the purpose of pasting or attaching such
forms to an envelope for returning the ballot or for printing an envelope for
returning the ballot.
(h) If the
registrars receive both the official absentee runoff ballot and the state
write-in absentee ballot from an elector during the time period for receiving
such ballots, the registrars shall submit only the official absentee runoff
ballot for counting. In such case, the state write-in absentee ballot shall be
handled in the same manner as ballots that are received too late for counting.
In order to ensure that the correct ballot is counted, the registrars shall
hold the ballots of individuals to whom both an official absentee runoff ballot
and a state write-in ballot have been sent until the close of the absentee
voting period before submitting such ballots for counting.
(i) The failure of an elector to seal the
ballot in an inner envelope alone shall not be grounds for rejecting such
ballot. The failure of the elector to complete the oath required of absentee
voters on the outer envelope shall be cause to reject such ballot.
Notes
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