§ 21-2-381.2 - State write-in absentee ballot for certain electors
O.C.G.A. 21-2-381.2 (2010)
21-2-381.2. State write-in absentee ballot for certain electors
(a) The Secretary of State shall design a state write-in absentee ballot for federal offices and state offices that are voted upon on a state-wide basis for use in a primary runoff or election runoff by an eligible absentee elector who lives outside the county or municipality in which the election is held and who is:
(1) A member of the armed forces of the United States, a member of the merchant marine of the United States, a member of the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or a spouse or dependent of such member residing with or accompanying said member; or
(2) A citizen of the United States residing outside the United States.
(b) Such state write-in absentee ballot shall be automatically included with any absentee ballot sent to such eligible absentee electors for any general primary or general election. No special request for such state write-in absentee ballot shall be required.
(c) The state write-in absentee ballot shall contain instructions for completing and returning such ballot.
(d) The Secretary of State shall establish a website which such eligible absentee electors may access to determine if there is a primary runoff or election runoff for a federal office or a state office that is voted upon on a state-wide basis. The address of such website shall be included in the instructions for voting such state write-in absentee ballot.
(e) The State Election Board may provide by rule or regulation for additional means of transmitting the state write-in absentee ballot to eligible absentee electors including, but not limited to, the use of facsimile transmissions and portable document format electronic versions.
(f) The registrars shall send a regular absentee ballot to such eligible absentee electors in accordance with Code Section 21-2-381. In the event that both the regular absentee ballot and the state write-in absentee ballot are received by the registrars within the time period for receiving absentee ballots, the regular absentee ballot shall be counted and the state write-in absentee ballot shall be kept unopened in the same manner as absentee ballots that are returned too late to be counted. Ballots for primary runoffs and election runoffs that are postmarked by the date of the primary runoff or election runoff, if proper in all other respects, shall be counted if received by the registrars within the three-day period following such primary runoff or election runoff.