Voters leave the Park Tavern polling location after casting their ballots in the Georgia primary election on May 24, 2022 in Atlanta, (Photo by Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)
ATLANTA - Georgia election law enforces continuous tabulation procedures, strict voting machine checks, and mandatory post-election audits across all counties.
Georgia ballot counting rules
What we know:
Poll workers must begin tallying paper ballots immediately once polls close and voting lists are secured under Official Code of Georgia Annotated Section 21-2-437.
The canvass proceeds without adjournment or postponement until counting concludes.
Poll workers open ballot boxes in the presence of others, count the total ballots, and read candidate names and ballot questions aloud in unobstructed public view.
Anyone handling ballots is barred from holding pens, pencils, stamps, or any marking devices.
In primary elections, workers separate and count ballots and tally sheets by political party.
Once the count finishes, officials certify the results and record general returns in ink, documenting total ballots received, ballots cast, voided ballots, spoiled or canceled ballots, blank ballots, and vote counts for each candidate.
Ballots that reveal a voter's identity are void, except for challenged ballots that may be contested later.
Votes marked with anything other than a pen or pencil, or marked for more candidates than permitted for an office, are invalid for those contests.
A voter's choices are typically indicated by a check mark or cross, but state law requires that any ballot displaying clear, unambiguous voter intent must be counted.
Votes cast for certified write-in candidates must be counted if placed in the designated space, regardless of whether a mark appears next to the name.
Votes cast for deceased, withdrawn, or disqualified candidates are void and cannot be tabulated.
These statutory procedures reflect updates enacted under Georgia’s 2021 Election Integrity Act, known as Senate Bill 202, which eliminated rules that permitted local superintendents to pause paper ballot counts until the next morning.
Casting ballots in Georgia
How To Cast:
Georgia voters can cast their ballots through three primary methods: in-person advance voting, absentee voting by mail or drop box, and in-person voting on Election Day.
Advance in-person voting opens on the fourth Monday before an election and runs through the Friday before Election Day.
The advance voting window covers three weeks, requiring voting on two Saturdays and offering counties the option to hold Sunday voting hours.
Advance voting windows are shorter for runoff elections, and voters may cast ballots at any approved early voting site in their county.
Voters requesting a mail-in absentee ballot can submit applications beginning 78 days before an election, with applications due to county registrars by the 11th day before Election Day.
Applications can be delivered by mail, fax, email attachment, in person, or uploaded online through the state absentee portal.
Voting Rules:
Applicants must provide a Georgia driver’s license number or state identification number.
Those without either must submit a copy of an approved government ID, military ID, passport, tribal ID, or a utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, or government document showing their name and address.
Voters who are 65 or older, have physical disabilities, live overseas, or serve in the military can opt in to receive mail ballots automatically for the remainder of an election cycle.
Completed absentee ballots must reach the county registrar by 7 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.
Ballots may be returned by mail, hand-delivered by the voter or an authorized relative or household member, or placed in an official county drop box.
Registrars verify each ballot by matching the voter's identification against registration files, notifying the voter to resolve missing or mismatched details.
MORE INFORMATION: Voting for the first time in Georgia? Here is what to know
A voter who requested an absentee ballot may still vote in person by surrendering the unvoted paper ballot at the precinct or canceling the unreturned ballot in writing.
Once registrars receive a completed absentee ballot, it cannot be canceled.
On Election Day, polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and voters must report to their assigned precinct. Anyone in line by 7 p.m. is permitted to vote upon presenting a valid government-issued photo ID.
Voters whose names do not appear on the registration list but who maintain a good-faith belief that they are eligible and registered in the county may cast a provisional paper ballot.
The provisional ballot will be counted if county registrars verify eligibility within three days following Election Day.
Residents can check registration status, register to vote, update records, and find assigned precincts through Georgia online voter services.
State law prohibits voting more than once, campaigning near someone marking an absentee ballot, voter intimidation, buying or selling votes, and tampering with ballots or voting systems.
Unauthorized third parties handling completed absentee applications face misdemeanor charges.
Third-party groups distributing application forms must include explicit disclaimers stating the material is not an official government communication.
Voting equipment and citizenship
Dig deeper:
Georgia regulations enforce testing requirements for voting system hardware and software before use, alongside multi-step database procedures to verify voter citizenship under Chapter 590-8-1 of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia.
Voting systems must be in full production and receive qualification certificates demonstrating compliance with Election Assistance Commission standards before seeking state approval.
Independent testing agencies conduct qualification tests, followed by state-specific certification testing administered by a designated Georgia certification agent.
Vendors must submit a comprehensive technical data package, including software source code, system flowcharts, operations manuals, and records of past complaints or decertifications, while paying for the state evaluation.
Any alterations to certified hardware, firmware, or software automatically invalidate state certification unless vendors demonstrate the change does not affect core program flow or vote counting.
The Secretary of State serves as the sole arbiter of whether an update requires mandatory retesting.
Once equipment is delivered to a county or municipality, it must undergo local acceptance testing to ensure deployed systems match certified specifications.
When applicants register using a driver’s license or state identification number, the Secretary of State checks citizenship against Georgia Department of Driver Services records.
If state driver's records do not confirm U.S. citizenship, officials cross-reference applicant data with the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
If neither database confirms citizenship, local registrars review records to verify the identification number was entered correctly before running another check.
When applicants provide only an alien registration number from naturalization records, officials verify the credential directly through the federal SAVE system.
Election audits and certification
What's next:
County election officials must conduct precertification risk-limiting audits of paper ballots following elections featuring presidential, U.S. Senate, or statewide contests under state law.
Local election superintendents manually inspect random samples of paper ballots before certification to ensure preliminary outcomes match actual voter choices.
The law sets the maximum allowable statistical margin of risk at 8% in 2024, decreasing to 6%, and dropping to 5% or less starting in 2028.
Audits examine the contest at the top of the ballot, along with major federal and executive offices—including presidential, U.S. Senate, congressional, gubernatorial, lieutenant governor, Secretary of State, and attorney general races—and an additional down-ballot statewide contest.
When multiple eligible contests appear, a panel consisting of the governor, lieutenant governor, House speaker, and state Senate and House minority leaders selects the contest by majority vote.
If leaders do not reach a majority by 11 a.m. on the Thursday following the election, the State Election Board chairperson makes the pick.
Audits are conducted in public view and must conclude before certification, with unofficial tabulated results published before work begins, and full audit reports released within 48 hours of completion.
The audit pool covers all regular in-person, advance in-person, absentee, and provisional ballots, while county superintendents maintain authority to audit additional contests.
County election superintendents publicly begin tabulating returns immediately after polls close and continue without interruption until all election-day and timely absentee ballots are computed under Official Code of Georgia Annotated Section 21-2-493.
Early and advance voting totals must be tabulated and reported by 8 p.m. on election night, or within one hour of polls closing in the county, whichever is later.
Superintendents compare voter turnout and ballot totals against registration rolls, and if counted ballots exceed voter totals, officials halt recording, summon poll officers, inspect materials with candidate representatives, and conduct a recount if warranted.
Any evidence of fraud must be reported to the local district attorney.
Returns from paper ballots and voting machines are read publicly and matched against control records, sealed duplicate returns, and machine counter sheets, with unresolved discrepancies triggering a manual recount of the precinct ballot box.
The Secretary of State posts digital scans of paper ballots at a minimum resolution of 200 dots per inch by 5 p.m. on the second Friday after the election.
Members of the public may submit open records requests following certification for higher-resolution scans of at least 600 dots per inch, which they may observe while only authorized election workers handle physical ballots.
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County superintendents must consolidate, sign, and certify official election returns no later than 5 p.m. on the Monday following the election and immediately transmit them to the Secretary of State, certifying court-ordered corrections if an election contest alters the outcome.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, which details statutory mandates for ballot tabulation, post-election audits, and election certification, as well as official election rules and absentee voting guidelines issued by the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office.