2020 Georgia Code
Title 21 - Elections
Chapter 2 - Elections and Primaries Generally
Article 2 - Supervisory Boards and Officers
Part 2 - Secretary of State
§ 21-2-51. Opening of Election Records to Members of Public
Except when otherwise provided by law, the primary and election records of the Secretary of State, including registration statements, nomination petitions, affidavits, certificates, tally papers, returns, accounts, contracts, reports, and other documents in his or her custody shall be open to public inspection and may be inspected and copied by any elector of the state during usual business hours at any time when they are not necessarily being used by the Secretary of State or his or her employees having duties to perform in reference thereto; provided, however, that such public inspection thereof shall only be in the presence of the Secretary of State or his or her employee and shall be subject to proper regulation for the safekeeping of such documents and subject to the further provisions of this chapter.
(Code 1933, § 34-302, enacted by Ga. L. 1964, Ex. Sess., p. 26, § 1; Ga. L. 1998, p. 295, § 1.)
Cross references.- Penalty for willful refusal by Secretary of State to permit public inspection of election records, § 21-2-586.
Opening of public records for inspection by public generally, § 50-18-70 et seq.
OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Editor's notes.
- In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, opinions decided under former Ga. L. 1949, p. 1204, § 37, are included in the annotations for this Code section.
Candidate's right to inspect lists of absentee voters.- A candidate for political office, or any other citizen, has the legal right to inspect the books and records relating to the names and addresses of persons requesting absentee ballots. 1952-53 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 82 (decided under Ga. L. 1949, p. 1204, § 37).
List must be legible without resort to use of other devices.- The certified list of electors required to be filed with the Secretary of State must be independently legible and a record of the list which may not be read except by resort to use of other devices, such as a microfiche of a list of electors, does not comply. 1976 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 76-24.
RESEARCH REFERENCES
Am. Jur. 2d.
- 25 Am. Jur. 2d, Elections, § 90 et seq. 72 Am. Jur. 2d, States, Territories, and Dependencies, § 65.
C.J.S.- 29 C.J.S., Elections, §§ 113 et seq., 148, 241 et seq., 261 et seq.
