SB 202: Revisions to Georgia\u27s Election and Voting Procedures

This Act primarily functions to revise elections and voting in three significant areas: voting access, ballot counting, and power and controls. With regard to voting access, the Act confines drop boxes to early voting sites, requires identification for absentee voting, changes the early voting hours, criminalizes the handing out of food and water to voters in line, moves up absentee ballot deadlines, bans voting buses, deems provisional ballots cast in the improper precinct void, restricts the mass mailing of absentee ballot request forms, removes limitations on voter eligibility challenges, and opens the potential for more voting sites when there are long lines. In terms of ballot counting, the Act provides for quicker election reporting times, requires that ballots appear on special paper, deems digital images of paper ballots as public records, and grants more access to poll watchers. Finally, regarding power and controls, the Act provides that state officials may replace county election boards, stipulates that a law enforcement hotline will be the point of contact for voter complaints, eliminates outside funding for elections, requires that runoff elections be held soon after general elections, and replaces free-for-all special elections with partisan races