2020 Georgia Code
Title 21 - Elections
Chapter 2 - Elections and Primaries Generally
Article 2 - Supervisory Boards and Officers
Part 2 - Secretary of State
§ 21-2-52. Preservation of Primary and Election Records

All primary and election documents in the office of the Secretary of State shall be preserved therein for a period of at least 24 months; and then the same may be destroyed unless otherwise provided by law.

(Code 1933, § 34-303, enacted by Ga. L. 1964, Ex. Sess., p. 26, § 1; Ga. L. 1970, p. 347, § 3; Ga. L. 1978, p. 1004, § 3; Ga. L. 1998, p. 295, § 1.)

- Maintenance and disposition of public records generally, § 50-18-90 et seq.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 25 Am. Jur. 2d, Elections, § 90 et seq. 72 Am. Jur. 2d, States, Territories, and Dependencies, § 65.

- 29 C.J.S., Elections, §§ 113 et seq., 148, 241 et seq., 261, 263, 264. 76 C.J.S., Records, § 51.

PART 3 SUPERINTENDENTS

21-2-70. Powers and duties.

Each superintendent within his or her county or municipality shall exercise all the powers granted to him or her by this chapter and shall perform all the duties imposed upon him or her by this chapter, which shall include the following:

1. To receive and act upon all petitions presented by electors, the board of registrars, or the county executive committee of a political party for the division, redivision, alteration, change, or consolidation of precincts;
2. To receive and determine the sufficiency of nomination petitions of candidates filing notice of their candidacy with him or her in accordance with this chapter;
3. To prepare and publish, in the manner provided by this chapter, all notices and advertisements, in connection with the conduct of elections, which may be required by law, and to transmit immediately to the Secretary of State a copy of any publication in which a call for a special primary, election, or runoff is issued;
4. To select and equip polling places for use in primaries and elections in accordance with this chapter;
5. To purchase, except voting machines, preserve, store, and maintain election equipment of all kinds, including voting booths and ballot boxes and to procure ballots and all other supplies for primaries and elections;
6. To appoint poll officers and other officers to serve in primaries and elections in accordance with this chapter;
7. To make and issue such rules, regulations, and instructions, consistent with law, including the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Election Board, as he or she may deem necessary for the guidance of poll officers, custodians, and electors in primaries and elections;
8. To instruct poll officers and others in their duties, calling them together in meetings whenever deemed advisable, and to inspect systematically and thoroughly the conduct of primaries and elections in the several precincts of his or her county to the end that primaries and elections may be honestly, efficiently, and uniformly conducted;
9. To receive from poll officers the returns of all primaries and elections, to canvass and compute the same, and to certify the results thereof to such authorities as may be prescribed by law;
10. To announce publicly, by posting in his or her office, the results of all primaries and elections held in his or her county or municipality;
11. In any general election at which a proposal to amend the Constitution or to provide for a new Constitution is submitted to the electors for ratification, the election superintendent shall provide copies of the summary of such proposal prepared pursuant to Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the Constitution as provided in this paragraph. A reasonable number of copies of such summary shall be conspicuously available in each polling place;
12. To prepare annually a budget estimate of his or her expenses under this chapter, in which shall be set forth an itemized list of expenditures for the preceding two years and an itemized estimate of the amount of money necessary to be appropriated for the ensuing year and to submit the same at the time and in the manner and form other budget estimates of his or her county or municipality are now or may hereafter be required to be filed;
13. To conduct all elections in such manner as to guarantee the secrecy of the ballot and to perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law;
14. To become certified by satisfactorily completing a certification program as set forth in Code Section 21-2-101; and
15. 1. In the case of a judge of the probate court serving as the election superintendent, such person shall take an oath in the following form upon assuming the duties of election superintendent which shall apply to all primaries and elections conducted by such person throughout such person's tenure as election superintendent:

       I, ____________________________, do swear (or affirm) that I will as superintendent duly attend all ensuing primaries and elections during the continuance thereof, that I will to the best of my ability prevent any fraud, deceit, or abuse in carrying on the same, that I will make a true and perfect return of such primaries and elections, and that I will at all times truly, impartially, and faithfully perform my duties in accordance with Georgia laws to the best of my judgment and ability.

    2. In the case of a board of elections, each member of the board shall take an oath in the following form upon becoming a member of the board which shall apply to all primaries and elections conducted by the board throughout such person's tenure on the board:

       I, ____________________________, do swear (or affirm) that I will as a member of the board of elections duly attend all ensuing primaries and elections during the continuance thereof, that I will to the best of my ability prevent any fraud, deceit, or abuse in carrying on the same, that I will make a true and perfect return of such primaries and elections, and that I will at all times truly, impartially, and faithfully perform my duties in accordance with Georgia laws to the best of my judgment and ability.

    3. In the case of an election supervisor or designee for a board of elections or board of elections and registration, the election supervisor or designee shall take an oath in the following form upon being appointed as an election supervisor or designee of the board which shall apply to all primaries and elections conducted by the board throughout such person's tenure:

       I, ______________________________, do swear (or affirm) that I will duly attend all ensuing primaries and elections during the continuance thereof, that I will to the best of my ability prevent any fraud, deceit, or abuse in carrying on the same, that I will make a true and perfect return of such primaries and elections, and that I will at all times truly, impartially, and faithfully perform my duties in accordance with Georgia laws to the best of my judgment and ability.

    4. Each judge of the probate court serving as an election superintendent, each member of a board of elections or board of elections and registration, and each election supervisor or designee for a board of elections or board of elections and registration serving on July 1, 2011, shall take the appropriate oath as set forth in this Code section which shall apply to all primaries and elections conducted throughout such person's tenure in that position.

(Code 1933, § 34-401, enacted by Ga. L. 1964, Ex. Sess., p. 26, § 1; Ga. L. 1970, p. 347, § 4; Ga. L. 1981, p. 1718, § 1; Ga. L. 1982, p. 1512, § 5; Ga. L. 1997, p. 590, § 4; Ga. L. 1998, p. 295, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 21, § 1; Ga. L. 2003, p. 517, § 5; Ga. L. 2008, p. 781, § 3/HB 1112; Ga. L. 2008, p. 817, § 3/HB 1098; Ga. L. 2011, p. 683, § 1/SB 82.)

- Ballot secrecy, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Georgia Election Code, Ballots, § 183-1-11-.01.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Editor's notes.

- In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, decisions under former Code Section 21-3-8 are included in the annotations for this Code section.

Cited in Bedingfield v. Adams, 221 Ga. 69, 142 S.E.2d 915 (1965); United States v. Garner, 349 F. Supp. 1054 (N.D. Ga. 1972); Lewis v. O'Day, 284 Ga. 423, 667 S.E.2d 594 (2008).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Performance of duties mandatory.

- The use of the word "shall" in this section with respect to the duties imposed upon a probate judge, as superintendent of elections, indicates the imposition by the General Assembly upon the probate judge of a mandatory duty to perform certain enumerated functions. 1978 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U78-44.

- A probate judge, acting as the superintendent of elections, has authority, pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 21-2-70(7), to adopt a rule for guidance of poll officers, custodians, and electors which rule would advise that any person, including candidates and candidates' campaign workers, is prohibited from remaining within 250 feet of a polling place for purpose of checking electors list. 1982 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 82-41.

- While the Election Code does not specify the exact method of calling a special primary, the judge of the probate court is the officer generally having jurisdiction of primaries, and the judge is the proper person to call a special primary. 1970 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U70-128.

- The county school board is empowered to authorize the calling of a school bond referendum which the county election superintendent shall then call by publishing the appropriate notice. The county superintendent of elections is also the proper person to conduct a school bond referendum. 1985 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 85-18.

Election superintendent is responsible for certifying the returns of elections. 1985 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 85-18.

- The ordinary (now superintendent) is not authorized to assess the costs incurred in examining the nomination petition against the candidate submitting the petition. If no appropriations are made to cover such expenses, the ordinary may be compensated for services pursuant to the method prescribed in former Code 1933, § 24-110 (see now O.C.G.A. § 15-1-12). 1968 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 68-233.

- The ordinary (now superintendent) does not have the authority needed to distribute sample ballots prior to the next general election; even if such authority were contained in the Election Code, it is extremely doubtful whether public funds could be used. 1968 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 68-4.

- The duty of the probate judge, as superintendent of elections, set forth in paragraph (11) (now paragraph (12)) of this section to make annual financial statements is clear, and as there appears to be no other legal remedy by which to compel the furnishing of such information by the probate judge to the county governing authority, an action for mandamus by the county governing authority may lie to require performance by the probate judge of duties. 1978 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U78-44.

Petitions in Murray County under the home rule provisions of the constitution should be filed with the judge of the probate court, rather than with the board of elections. 1988 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U88-15.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 25 Am. Jur. 2d, Elections, §§ 83, 90, 91. 26 Am. Jur. 2d, Elections, § 271 et seq.

- 29 C.J.S., Elections, § 113 et seq.