2021 Georgia Code
Title 21 - Elections
Chapter 2 - Elections and Primaries Generally
Article 10 - Absentee Voting
§ 21-2-388. Cancellation of Absentee Ballots of Electors Who Are Present in Election Precinct During Primaries and Elections

When an absentee ballot which has been voted shall be returned to and received by the board of registrars, it shall be deemed to have been voted then and there; and no other ballot shall be issued to the same elector. If an elector has requested to vote by absentee ballot and has not received such absentee ballot, has such ballot in his or her possession, has not yet returned such ballot, or has returned such ballot but the registrars have not received such ballot, such elector may have the absentee ballot canceled and vote in person on the day of the primary, election, or runoff in one of the following ways:

1. If the elector is in possession of the ballot, by surrendering the absentee ballot to the poll manager of the precinct in which the elector's name appears on the electors list and then being permitted to vote the regular ballot. The poll manager shall mark "Canceled" and the date and time across the face of the absentee ballot and shall initial same. The poll manager shall also make appropriate notations beside the name of the elector on the electors list. All such canceled absentee ballots shall be returned with other ballots to the superintendent; or
2. If the elector has not received the ballot, has not yet returned the ballot, or if the elector has returned the ballot but the registrars have not received the ballot, by appearing in person before the managers of the elector's precinct, the registrars, or the absentee ballot clerk and requesting in writing that the envelope containing the elector's absentee ballot be marked "Canceled." After having satisfied themselves as to the identity of such elector and confirming that the elector's absentee ballot has not yet been received by the board of registrars, the registrars or the absentee ballot clerk shall grant the request and shall notify the managers of the elector's precinct as to such action so as to permit the elector to vote in person in that precinct. If the absentee ballot is in the mail, has not yet been returned, or its exact location is unknown, the registrar or the absentee ballot clerk shall write "Canceled" beside the elector's name on the master list of absentee voters and shall cancel the ballot itself as soon as it is received. If the location of the requested absentee ballot is known to the elector and it has not been surrendered to the poll manager, the elector shall destroy the absentee ballot after casting his or her vote in person. Canceled absentee ballots shall be disposed of in the same manner as provided in subsection (a) of Code Section 21-2-386 for absentee ballots returned too late to be cast.

(Code 1933, § 34-1409, enacted by Ga. L. 1964, Ex. Sess., p. 26, § 1; Ga. L. 1974, p. 71, § 12; Ga. L. 1981, p. 1718, § 9; Ga. L. 1982, p. 1512, § 5; Ga. L. 1994, p. 1406, § 23; Ga. L. 1997, p. 590, § 33; Ga. L. 1998, p. 295, § 1; Ga. L. 2007, p. 544, § 5/SB 194; Ga. L. 2019, p. 7, § 33/HB 316.)

The 2019 amendment, effective April 2, 2019, inserted "has not yet returned such ballot," in the middle of the second sentence of the introductory language; in paragraph (2), in the first sentence, inserted ", has not yet returned the ballot," near the beginning, inserted "the managers of the elector's precinct," and inserted a comma following "registrars" in the middle, in the second sentence, inserted "and confirming that the elector's absentee ballot has not yet been received by the board of registrars" in the middle, in the third sentence, inserted ", has not yet been returned," near the middle, and added the fourth sentence.

- For article on the 2019 amendment of this Code section, see 36 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 81 (2019).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 26 Am. Jur. 2d, Elections, §§ 336, 340.

- 29 C.J.S., Elections, § 345 et seq.