Section 2. Elections and Primaries Generally, 21-2-1 through 21-2-604.
ARTICLE 11
PREPARATION FOR AND CONDUCT OF PRIMARIES AND ELECTIONS
21-2-417.1. Voter identification card.
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Each county board of registrars shall provide at least one place in the county at which it shall accept applications for and issue Georgia voter identification cards to registered Georgia electors which shall under state law be valid only for purposes of voter identification under Code Section 21-2-417 and available only to registered electors of this state. No fee shall be charged or collected for the application for or issuance of a Georgia voter identification card.
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No person shall be eligible for a Georgia voter identification card if such person has a valid unexpired driver's license or identification card issued under Code Section 40-5-100.
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The Georgia voter identification card shall be captioned "GEORGIA VOTER IDENTIFICATION CARD" and shall contain a prominent statement that under Georgia law it is valid only as identification for voting purposes. The Georgia voter identification card shall be laminated, shall contain a digital color photograph of the applicant, and shall include the following information:
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Full legal name;
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Address of residence;
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Birth date;
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Date identification card was issued;
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Sex;
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Height;
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Weight;
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Eye color;
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County where the identification card was issued including a county number to be assigned for each county by the Secretary of State; and
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Such other information or identification as required by rule of the State Election Board.
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The application for a Georgia voter identification card shall elicit the information required under subsection (c) of this Code section and such other information as may be required by rule of the State Election Board. The application shall be signed and sworn to by the applicant and any falsification or fraud in the making of the application shall constitute a felony offense under Code Section 16-10-71, relating to the offense of false swearing.
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The board of registrars shall require presentation and verification of the following information before issuing a Georgia voter identification card to a person:
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A photo identity document, except that a nonphoto identity document is acceptable if it includes both the person's full legal name and date of birth;
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Documentation showing the person's date of birth;
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Evidence that the person is registered to vote in this state; and
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Documentation showing the person's name and address of principal residence.
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A Georgia voter identification card shall remain valid so long as a person resides at the same address and remains qualified to vote. It shall be the duty of a person who moves his or her residence within the State of Georgia to surrender his or her card to the board of registrars of the county of his or her new residence; and such person may after such surrender apply for and receive a new card if such person is otherwise eligible under this Code section. It shall be the duty of a person who moves his or her residence outside the State of Georgia or who ceases to be qualified to vote to surrender his or her card to the board of registrars by which it was issued.
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The Secretary of State shall provide each county board of registrars with the necessary equipment, forms, supplies, and training for the production of the Georgia voter identification cards and shall maintain such equipment.
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Without in any way limiting the authority of the Secretary of State under subsection (g) of this Code section, the State Election Board shall adopt rules and regulations for the administration of this Code section and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, such rules and regulations may further define or prescribe the types of documentation required under subsection (e) of this Code section.
(Code 1981, §21-2-417.1, enacted by Ga. L. 2006, p. 3, § 2/SB 84; Ga. L. 2008, p. 781, § 13/HB 1112.)
Effective date.
- This Code section became effective January 26, 2006.
The 2008 amendment,
effective July 1, 2008, in subsection (g), substituted "Secretary of State" for "State Election Board"; and, in subsection (h), substituted "Without in any way limiting the authority of the Secretary of State under subsection (g) of this Code section, the State" for "The State" at the beginning.
Administrative Rules and Regulations.
- Application, documentation, and availability of Georgia Voter Identification Card, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Georgia Election Code, Georgia Voter Identification Card, Sec. 183-1-20-.01.
JUDICIAL DECISIONS
Equal protection.
- Court enjoined the enforcement of the photo identification requirement of the 2006 Photo ID Act, codified at O.C.G.A.
§§
21-2-417,21-2-417.1, and40-5-103(d), because the requirement unduly burdened the right to vote in violation of the fourteenth amendment's equal protection clause, at least with respect to the July 18, 2006, primary elections and the corresponding primary run-off elections; the nonprofit organizations and their constituents would have suffered irreparable harm if the court did not grant a preliminary injunction with respect to those elections and, considering the right at issue and the likely injury caused by not entering a preliminary injunction, the threatened harm to the nonprofit organizations outweighed the potential injury to the state and various election officials. Finally, entering a preliminary injunction for the elections at issue served the public interest by preserving voting rights. Common Cause/Georgia v. Billups, 439 F. Supp. 2d 1294 (N.D. Ga. 2006).
RESEARCH REFERENCES
C.J.S.
- 29 C.J.S., Elections,
§§
53, 63.
ALR.
- Voter identification requirements as denying or abridging right to vote on account of race or color under
§
2 of Voting Rights Act, 52 U.S.C.A.
§
10301, 12 A.L.R. Fed. 3d 4.
