O.C.G.A.
O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 21-2-50 (2019)

Powers and duties; prohibition against serving in fiduciary capacity

✓ 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) The Secretary of State shall exercise all the powers granted to the Secretary of State by this chapter and shall perform all the duties imposed by this chapter, which shall include the following: (1) To determine the forms of nomination petitions, ballots, and other forms the Secretary of State is required to determine under this chapter; (2) To receive registration statements from political parties and bodies and to determine their sufficiency prior to filing, in accordance with this chapter, and to settle any disputes concerning such statements; (3) To receive and determine the sufficiency of nomination petitions of candidates filing notice of their candidacy with the Secretary of State in accordance with this chapter; (4) To certify to the proper superintendent official lists of all the political party candidates who have been certified to the Secretary of State as qualified candidates for the succeeding primary and to certify to the proper superintendent official lists of all the candidates who have filed their notices of candidacy with the Secretary of State, both such certifications to be in substantially the form of the ballots to be used in the primary or election. The Secretary of State shall add to such form the language to be used in submitting any proposed constitutional amendment or other question to be voted upon at such election; (5) To furnish to the proper superintendent all blank forms, including tally and return sheets, numbered lists of voters, cards of

instructions, notices of penalties, instructions for marking ballots, tally sheets, precinct returns, recap sheets, consolidated returns, oaths of managers and clerks, oaths of assisted electors, voters certificates and binders, applications for absentee ballots, envelopes and instruction sheets for absentee ballots, and such other supplies as the Secretary of State shall deem necessary and advisable from time to time, for use in all elections and primaries. Such forms shall have printed thereon appropriate instructions for their use; (6) To receive from the superintendent the returns of primaries and elections and to canvass and compute the votes cast for candidates and upon questions, as required by this chapter; (7) To furnish upon request a certified copy of any document in the Secretary of State’s custody by virtue of this chapter and to fix and charge a fee to cover the cost of furnishing same; (8) To perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law; (9) To determine and approve the form of ballots for use in special elections; (10) To prepare and provide a notice to all candidates for federal or state office advising such candidates of such information, to include requirements of this chapter, as may, in the discretion of the Secretary of State, be conducive to the fair, legal, and orderly conduct of primaries and elections. A copy of such notice shall be provided to each superintendent for further distribution to candidates for county and militia district offices; (11) To conduct training sessions at such places as the Secretary of State deems appropriate in each year for the training of registrars and superintendents of elections; (12) To prepare and publish, in the manner provided in this chapter, all notices and advertisements in connection with the conduct of elections which may be required by law; (13) To prepare and furnish information for citizens on voter registration and voting; (14) To maintain the official list of registered voters for this state and the list of inactive voters required by this chapter; and (15) To develop, program, build, and review ballots for use by counties and municipalities on voting systems in use in the state. (b) As the state’s chief election official, the Secretary of State shall not serve in any fiduciary capacity for the campaign of any candidate whose election will be certified by the Secretary of State. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the Secretary of State from organizing and operating his or her own campaign for election to public office.

ELECTIONS & PRIMARIES

History

Code 1933, § 34-301, enacted by Ga. L. 1964, Ex. Sess., p. 26, § 1; Ga. L. 1969, p. 329, § 3; Ga. L. 1970, p. 347, § 2; Ga. L. 1977, p. 1053, § 1; Ga. L. 1979, p. 955, § 1; Ga. L. 1983, p. 140, § 1; Ga. L. 1986, p. 382, § 1; Ga. L. 1994, p. 1443, § 1; Ga. L. 1998, p. 295, § 1; Ga. L. 2001, p. 240, § 2; Ga. L. 2003, p. 517, § 3; Ga. L. 2005, p. 253, § 6/HB 244; Ga. L. 2019, p. 7, § 2/HB 316; Ga. L. 2023, p. 730, § 2(1)/HB 475, effective July 1, 2023. The 2023 amendment, effective July 1, 2023, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, revised punctuation in paragraph (a)(11).

Annotations

Cross references. Making of election returns to Secretary of State, Ga. Const. 1983, Art. II, Sec. II, Para. I. Editor’s notes. Ga. L. 1994, p. 1443, § 28, not codified

by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval [April 15, 1994] for the purpose of authorizing the Secretary of State to design and distribute such forms and materials and to develop, procure, and install such computer hardware and software as are required under the provisions of this Act and to exercise such administrative authority as such officer deems necessary and proper for the implementation of this Act. For all other purposes, this Act shall become effective January 1, 1995.” Law reviews. For article on the 2019 amendment of this Code section, see 36 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 81 (2019).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS Standing of Secretary of State to object to request to view election records under Open Records Act. - The Georgia Secretary of State had standing to object to a request under the Open Records Act for election records held by a county. Under O.C.G.A. §§ 21-2-30, 21-231, 21-2-32, 21-2-50 et seq., and 45-13-20 et seq., the Secretary was charged with the supervision of all elections in Georgia and thus had the right to seek judicial intervention. Smith v. DeKalb County, 288 Ga. App. 574, 654 S.E.2d 469, 2007 Ga. App. LEXIS 1254 (2007), cert. denied, No. S08C0596, 2008 Ga. LEXIS 291 (Ga. Mar. 10, 2008). Secretary of State’s office complied

with its statutory duty under O.C.G.A. § 21-2-50 when it provided a potential candidate with instructions on the nomination petition process and all of the relevant Official Code sections and State Election Board Rules. Lewy v. Beazley, 270 Ga. 11, 507 S.E.2d 721. No obligation to inform candidate of published case law. - The Secretary of State’s office was not obligated to inform a potential political candidate of published case law interpreting the Code sections pertaining to the nomination process, especially when such case law is easily discoverable through reasonable research. Lewy v. Beazley, 270 Ga. 11, 507 S.E.2d 721.

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Editor’s notes. - In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, opinions decided under former Code 1933, § 341904 are included in the annotations for this Code section. Removal of names from primary ballots not authorized. - Neither the State Election Board nor the Secretary of State has the authority to order candidates’ names removed from primary bal-

lots. 1974 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 74-96 (decided under former Code 1933, § 341904). Certification of minor party and independent candidates. - The Secretary of State is not required to certify as candidates for national and state offices at a regular election, the names of persons as nominees of a party that did not cast five percent of the votes in the last general

election, or as independent candidates, unless the candidate shall file a petition signed by no less than five percent of the registered voters in the territory. 1945-47 Ga. Op. Att’y Gen. 238 (decided under former Code 1933, § 34-1904). Names submitted following filing deadline. - The Secretary of State may

not direct that the name of a party nominee submitted to the Secretary of State after the filing deadline be placed on the general election ballot. 1945-47 Ga. Op. Att’y Gen. 246; 1945-47 Ga. Op. Att’y Gen. 248 (decided under former Code 1933, § 34-1904).

RESEARCH REFERENCES Am. Jur. 2d. 25 Am. Jur. 2d, Elections, § 90 et seq. 72 Am. Jur. 2d, States, Territories, and Dependencies, § 65.

C.J.S. 29 C.J.S., Elections, §§ 113 et seq., 148, 241 et seq., 261 et seq.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 13 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1998–2023 · leading case: Green Party v. Kemp, 171 F. Supp. 3d 1340 (N.D. Ga. 2016).
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Green Party v. Kemp, 171 F. Supp. 3d 1340 (N.D. Ga. 2016). · cites it 2× “) Under O.C.G.A. § 21-2-50, the Secretary of State is charged with significant duties related to the regulation and supervision of the elections process in Georgia.”
L. Lin Wood, Jr. v. Brad Raffensperger, 981 F.3d 1307 (11th Cir. 2020). “Ga. Code Ann. § 21-2-50 (b). He manages the state system of elections and chairs the State Election Board.”
Georgia Ass'n of Latino Elected Officials, Inc. v. Gwinnett Cnty. Bd. of Reg. & Elections, 36 F.4th 1100 (11th Cir. 2022). “See O.C.G.A. § 21-2-50. The Voting Rights Act of 1965, Pub.”
Lewy v. Beazley, 507 S.E.2d 721 (Ga. 1998). · cites it 4× “Furthermore, while we agree with a recent observation made by the United States District Court that it would be beneficial for the legislature to codify the Poppell decision, 9 such is not yet the case.”
United States v. Georgia, 952 F. Supp. 2d 1318 (N.D. Ga. 2013). · cites it 2× “O.C.G.A. § 21-2-50(b). Georgia was also a defendant in a 2004 action in which the United States alleged that UOCAVA voters from a substantial number of Georgia’s 159 counties had not been mailed absentee ballots in time to receive and return them through United States postal…”
Green Party v. Kemp, 106 F. Supp. 3d 1314 (N.D. Ga. 2015). · cites it 2× “) Under O.C.G.A. § 21-2-50, the Secretary of State is charged with significant duties related to the regulation and supervision of the elections process in Georgia.”
United States v. Georgia, 892 F. Supp. 2d 1367 (N.D. Ga. 2012). · cites it 2× “O.C.G.A. § 21-2-50(b). Georgia was also the defendant in a 2004 action in which the United States alleged that UOCAVA voters from a substantial number of Georgia's 159 counties had not been mailed absentee ballots in time to receive and return them through United States postal…”
Wood v. Raffensperger (N.D. Ga. 2020). · cites it 4× “” O.C.G.A. § 21-2-50(b). See also Ga. Op. Att’y Gen.”
Curling v. Raffensperger (N.D. Ga. 2020). · cites it 4× “See O.C.G.A. § 21-2-50(b) (referring to the Secretary as “the state’s chief election official”); see also Ga.”
Rose v. Raffensperger (N.D. Ga. 2021). · cites it 2× “Since the Secretary is the person responsible for administering elections, O.C.G.A. § 21-2-50(b), Plaintiffs’ injuries are traceable to him and injunctive relief directed against him concerning the administration of elections for the Commission consistent with Section 2 would…”
Rose v. Raffensperger (N.D. Ga. 2022). · cites it 2× “29 See generally O.C.G.A. § 21-2-50(a) (2019). The Secretary admits that his proffered hypothetical—in which the Governor simply appoints commissioners to fill vacancies, ad infinitum—would violate the Georgia constitutional provision that requires members of the Commission to…”
Georgia State Conf. of the NAACP v. Raffensperger (N.D. Ga. 2023). · cites it 2× “See O.C.G.A. § 21-2-50. B. Preliminary Injunction Standard A plaintiff seeking preliminary injunctive relief must show (1) a substantial likelihood of success on the merits; (2) irreparable injury absent an injunction; (3) that the balance of equities is in his favor; and (4)…”
Show all 13 citing cases →
— 21-2-50(a) — 1 case
Rose v. Raffensperger (N.D. Ga. 2022). “29 See generally O.C.G.A. § 21-2-50(a) (2019). The Secretary admits that his proffered hypothetical—in which the Governor simply appoints commissioners to fill vacancies, ad infinitum—would violate the Georgia constitutional provision that requires members of the Commission to…”
— 21-2-50(b) — 6 cases
United States v. Georgia, 952 F. Supp. 2d 1318 (N.D. Ga. 2013). “O.C.G.A. § 21-2-50(b). Georgia was also a defendant in a 2004 action in which the United States alleged that UOCAVA voters from a substantial number of Georgia’s 159 counties had not been mailed absentee ballots in time to receive and return them through United States postal…”
United States v. Georgia, 892 F. Supp. 2d 1367 (N.D. Ga. 2012). “O.C.G.A. § 21-2-50(b). Georgia was also the defendant in a 2004 action in which the United States alleged that UOCAVA voters from a substantial number of Georgia's 159 counties had not been mailed absentee ballots in time to receive and return them through United States postal…”
Wood v. Raffensperger (N.D. Ga. 2020). “” O.C.G.A. § 21-2-50(b). See also Ga. Op. Att’y Gen.”
Curling v. Raffensperger (N.D. Ga. 2020). “See O.C.G.A. § 21-2-50(b) (referring to the Secretary as “the state’s chief election official”); see also Ga.”
Rose v. Raffensperger (N.D. Ga. 2021). “Since the Secretary is the person responsible for administering elections, O.C.G.A. § 21-2-50(b), Plaintiffs’ injuries are traceable to him and injunctive relief directed against him concerning the administration of elections for the Commission consistent with Section 2 would…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.