TITLE 21 ELECTIONS

Section 2. Elections and Primaries Generally, 21-2-1 through 21-2-604.

ARTICLE 2 SUPERVISORY BOARDS AND OFFICERS

21-2-70. Powers and duties.

Each superintendent within his or her county or municipality shall exercise all the powers granted to him or her by this chapter and shall perform all the duties imposed upon him or her by this chapter, which shall include the following:

1. To receive and act upon all petitions presented by electors, the board of registrars, or the county executive committee of a political party for the division, redivision, alteration, change, or consolidation of precincts;
2. To receive and determine the sufficiency of nomination petitions of candidates filing notice of their candidacy with him or her in accordance with this chapter;
3. To prepare and publish, in the manner provided by this chapter, all notices and advertisements, in connection with the conduct of elections, which may be required by law, and to transmit immediately to the Secretary of State a copy of any publication in which a call for a special primary, election, or runoff is issued;
4. To select and equip polling places for use in primaries and elections in accordance with this chapter;
5. To purchase, except voting machines, preserve, store, and maintain election equipment of all kinds, including voting booths and ballot boxes and to procure ballots and all other supplies for primaries and elections;
6. To appoint poll officers and other officers to serve in primaries and elections in accordance with this chapter;
7. To make and issue such rules, regulations, and instructions, consistent with law, including the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Election Board, as he or she may deem necessary for the guidance of poll officers, custodians, and electors in primaries and elections;
8. To instruct poll officers and others in their duties, calling them together in meetings whenever deemed advisable, and to inspect systematically and thoroughly the conduct of primaries and elections in the several precincts of his or her county to the end that primaries and elections may be honestly, efficiently, and uniformly conducted;
9. To receive from poll officers the returns of all primaries and elections, to canvass and compute the same, and to certify the results thereof to such authorities as may be prescribed by law;
10. To announce publicly, by posting in his or her office, the results of all primaries and elections held in his or her county or municipality;
11. In any general election at which a proposal to amend the Constitution or to provide for a new Constitution is submitted to the electors for ratification, the election superintendent shall provide copies of the summary of such proposal prepared pursuant to Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the Constitution as provided in this paragraph. A reasonable number of copies of such summary shall be conspicuously available in each polling place;
12. To prepare annually a budget estimate of his or her expenses under this chapter, in which shall be set forth an itemized list of expenditures for the preceding two years and an itemized estimate of the amount of money necessary to be appropriated for the ensuing year and to submit the same at the time and in the manner and form other budget estimates of his or her county or municipality are now or may hereafter be required to be filed;
13. To conduct all elections in such manner as to guarantee the secrecy of the ballot and to perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law;
14. To become certified by satisfactorily completing a certification program as set forth in Code Section 21-2-101; and
15. 1. In the case of a judge of the probate court serving as the election superintendent, such person shall take an oath in the following form upon assuming the duties of election superintendent which shall apply to all primaries and elections conducted by such person throughout such person's tenure as election superintendent:

       I, ____________________________, do swear (or affirm) that I will as superintendent duly attend all ensuing primaries and elections during the continuance thereof, that I will to the best of my ability prevent any fraud, deceit, or abuse in carrying on the same, that I will make a true and perfect return of such primaries and elections, and that I will at all times truly, impartially, and faithfully perform my duties in accordance with Georgia laws to the best of my judgment and ability.

    2. In the case of a board of elections, each member of the board shall take an oath in the following form upon becoming a member of the board which shall apply to all primaries and elections conducted by the board throughout such person's tenure on the board:

       I, ____________________________, do swear (or affirm) that I will as a member of the board of elections duly attend all ensuing primaries and elections during the continuance thereof, that I will to the best of my ability prevent any fraud, deceit, or abuse in carrying on the same, that I will make a true and perfect return of such primaries and elections, and that I will at all times truly, impartially, and faithfully perform my duties in accordance with Georgia laws to the best of my judgment and ability.

    3. In the case of an election supervisor or designee for a board of elections or board of elections and registration, the election supervisor or designee shall take an oath in the following form upon being appointed as an election supervisor or designee of the board which shall apply to all primaries and elections conducted by the board throughout such person's tenure:

       I, ______________________________, do swear (or affirm) that I will duly attend all ensuing primaries and elections during the continuance thereof, that I will to the best of my ability prevent any fraud, deceit, or abuse in carrying on the same, that I will make a true and perfect return of such primaries and elections, and that I will at all times truly, impartially, and faithfully perform my duties in accordance with Georgia laws to the best of my judgment and ability.

    4. Each judge of the probate court serving as an election superintendent, each member of a board of elections or board of elections and registration, and each election supervisor or designee for a board of elections or board of elections and registration serving on July 1, 2011, shall take the appropriate oath as set forth in this Code section which shall apply to all primaries and elections conducted throughout such person's tenure in that position.

(Code 1933, § 34-401, enacted by Ga. L. 1964, Ex. Sess., p. 26, § 1; Ga. L. 1970, p. 347, § 4; Ga. L. 1981, p. 1718, § 1; Ga. L. 1982, p. 1512, § 5; Ga. L. 1997, p. 590, § 4; Ga. L. 1998, p. 295, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 21, § 1; Ga. L. 2003, p. 517, § 5; Ga. L. 2008, p. 781, § 3/HB 1112; Ga. L. 2008, p. 817, § 3/HB 1098; Ga. L. 2011, p. 683, § 1/SB 82.)

The 2008 amendments. The first 2008 amendment, effective July 1, 2008, substituted "as set forth in Code Section 21-2-101" for "approved by the Secretary of State no later than January 1, 2007. Such program may include instruction on, and may require the superintendent to demonstrate proficiency in, the operation of the state's direct recording electronic voting equipment and in state and federal law and procedures related to elections. In the case of boards of elections or boards of elections and registration, this requirement may be satisfied either by the certification of the members of the board or the board's designee" in paragraph (14). The second 2008 amendment, effective July 1, 2008, in paragraph (9), deleted ", as soon as practicable following the primary and election," following "to certify"; in paragraph (10), added "or municipality" at the end; in paragraph (12), inserted "or municipality" near the end; and, in paragraph (14), made identical changes as the first 2008 amendment.

The 2011 amendment, effective July 1, 2011, substituted the present provisions of paragraph (15) for the former provisions, which read: "To take an oath in the following form:

"I, ____________________________, do swear (or affirm) that I will as superintendent duly attend the ensuing election (or primary) during the continuance thereof, that I will to the best of my ability prevent any fraud, deceit, or abuse in carrying on the same, that I will make a true and perfect return of the said election (or primary), and that I will at all times truly, impartially, and faithfully perform my duties in accordance with Georgia laws to the best of my judgment and ability."