O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 21-2-499 (2019)

Duty of Secretary of State as to tabulation, computation, and canvassing of votes for state and federal officers; certification of presidential electors by Governor

✓ O.C.G.A. — 2019 edition (Public.Resource.Org Release 73)

Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.

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(a) Upon receiving the certified returns of any election from the various superintendents, the Secretary of State shall immediately proceed to tabulate, compute, and canvass the votes cast for all candidates described in subparagraph (a)(4)(A) of Code Section 21-2497 and upon all questions voted for by the electors of more than one county and shall thereupon certify and file in his or her office the tabulation thereof. In the event an error is found in the certified returns presented to the Secretary of State or in the tabulation, computation, or canvassing of votes as described in this Code section, the Secretary of State shall notify the county submitting the incorrect returns and direct

the county to correct and recertify such returns. Upon receipt by the Secretary of State of the corrected certified returns of the county, the Secretary of State shall issue a new certification of the results and shall file the same in his or her office. (b) The Secretary of State shall also, upon receiving the certified returns for presidential electors, proceed to tabulate, compute, and canvass the votes cast for each slate of presidential electors and shall immediately lay them before the Governor. Not later than 5:00 P.M. on the seventeenth day following the date on which such election was conducted, the Secretary of State shall certify the votes cast for all candidates described in subparagraph (a)(4)(A) of Code Section 21-2497 and upon all questions voted for by the electors of more than one county and shall no later than that same time lay the returns for presidential electors before the Governor. The Governor shall enumerate and ascertain the number of votes for each person so voted and shall certify the slates of presidential electors receiving the highest number of votes. The Governor shall certify the slates of presidential electors no later than 5:00 P.M. on the eighteenth day following the date on which such election was conducted. Notwithstanding the deadlines specified in this Code section, such times may be altered for just cause by an order of a judge of superior court of this state. (c) The Secretary of State shall not count, tabulate, or publish the names of any write-in candidates for whom the notice of intention of candidacy has not been provided in compliance with Code Section

History

Code 1933, § 34-1510, enacted by Ga. L. 1964, Ex. Sess., p. 26, § 1; Ga. L. 1969, p. 292, § 1; Ga. L. 1970, p. 347, § 30; Ga. L. 1987, p. 997, § 3; Ga. L. 1995, p. 1027, § 14; Ga. L. 1998, p. 295, § 1; Ga. L. 2001, p. 269, § 26; Ga. L. 2003, p. 517, § 57; Ga. L. 2012, p. 995, § 39/SB 92; Ga. L. 2019, p. 7, § 43/HB 316.

Annotations

Cross references. Duty of Secretary of State to destroy

quadrennially all filed election returns of officials whose terms of office have expired, § 45-13-20(7). Law reviews. For note on the 2001 amendment of this Code section, see 18 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 96 (2001). For article on the 2019 amendment of this Code section, see 36 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 81 (2019).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS Certification of election returns. - Trial court did not err in ruling that certification by a county board of elections and registration triggered the five-day filing period of O.C.G.A. § 21-2-524(a) because the five-day period of § 21-2-524(a) for filing a petition to contest the election results for a county office began to run when the county superintendent had offi-

cially consolidated and certified the returns for the particular office; because the Secretary of State only certifies election returns for federal and state offices, the sole election official specified in the Georgia Code as having responsibility for consolidation and certification of election results for other offices is the local superintendent. Broughton v. Douglas

ELECTIONS & PRIMARIES

County Bd. of Elections, 286 Ga. 528, 690 S.E.2d 141, 2010 Ga. LEXIS 60 (2010). Obligation of county to take additional corrective steps. - O.C.G.A. §§ 21-2-419 and 21-2-499 expressly anticipate the potential need for a county to take additional corrective steps and re-

submit the county’s vote tally to the Secretary of State after the Secretary’s remission of the original certification with questions. Common Cause Georgia v. Kemp, 347 F. Supp. 3d 1270, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 195340 (N.D. Ga. 2018).

RESEARCH REFERENCES Am. Jur. 2d. 26 Am. Jur. 2d, Elections, § 372.

C.J.S. 29 C.J.S., Elections, § 417 et seq.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 6 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2010–2021 · leading case: L. Lin Wood, Jr. v. Brad Raffensperger, 981 F.3d 1307 (11th Cir. 2020).

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L. Lin Wood, Jr. v. Brad Raffensperger, 981 F.3d 1307 (11th Cir. 2020). “Ga. Code Ann. § 21-2-499 (b). And it requires the Governor to certify Georgia’s slate of presidential electors by 5:00 p.”

United States v. Georgia, 952 F. Supp. 2d 1318 (N.D. Ga. 2013). · cites it 4× “In previous briefings by the parties, the Court was cited to a fourteen-day certification period under O.C.G.A. § 21-2-499(b); however, the parties now agree that the fourteen-day time line of § 21-2-499(b) does not apply to all federal elections and only applies to certain…”

United States v. Georgia, 892 F. Supp. 2d 1367 (N.D. Ga. 2012). · cites it 4× “§ 21-2-493(k), after which, the Secretary of State can certify the results, which must be done by August, 14, 2012, see O.C.G.A. § 21-2-499. The best-case scenario is that the results are certified in mere hours and the official ballots are transmitted by August 1, 2012.”

Broughton v. Douglas Cnty. Bd. of Elections, 690 S.E.2d 141 (Ga. 2010). · cites it 2× “The only duty of certification placed on the Secretary of State applies to the election of federal and state officers and to questions voted for in more than one county.”

Wisconsin Voters All. v. Pence (D.D.C. 2021). “§ 16 - 212(B); Ga. Code Ann. § 21-2-499 (b); Mich. Comp.”

Coalition for Good Governance v. Raffensperger (N.D. Ga. 2021). “§ 21-2-499(b), and the absentee ballot must be requested no later than eleven days prior to the election, the application window for a runoff election is seventeen days.”

— 21-2-499(b) — 3 cases

United States v. Georgia, 952 F. Supp. 2d 1318 (N.D. Ga. 2013). “In previous briefings by the parties, the Court was cited to a fourteen-day certification period under O.C.G.A. § 21-2-499(b); however, the parties now agree that the fourteen-day time line of § 21-2-499(b) does not apply to all federal elections and only applies to certain…”

United States v. Georgia, 892 F. Supp. 2d 1367 (N.D. Ga. 2012). “§ 21-2-493(k), after which, the Secretary of State can certify the results, which must be done by August, 14, 2012, see O.C.G.A. § 21-2-499. The best-case scenario is that the results are certified in mere hours and the official ballots are transmitted by August 1, 2012.”

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