By: Sen. Mike Dugan (R – Carrollton)
After the General Election of 2020, there was not a single concern brought to the attention of the legislature more frequently than enacting more serious protections for Georgia’s election security. Your legislators listened to these concerns earnestly and took sensible steps to remedy what were perceived as gaps in Georgia’s election laws. While the Senate and the House brought a number of proposals forward during the 2021 Legislative Session, many were vetted and consolidated into a single legislative measure – Senate Bill 202. The proposals considered to be included into SB 202 were not created in a vacuum or behind closed doors. This bill incorporates ideas brought to us by both parties and serves one singular purpose: to make it easier to vote, but harder to cheat.
Ballot dropboxes proved to be very popular among Georgia voters during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, these dropboxes were only authorized under an emergency order and were not an official component of Georgia law. SB 202 formally codifies the use of droboxes and, further, requires each county in the state to maintain at least one for use by the public. Instead of leaving the droboxes exposed outdoors at all hours of the day and night, SB 202 calls for these droboxes to be housed inside a voting precinct, where they can remain under the supervision of poll workers at all times. This provision strikes the right balance between allowing the convenience of a ballot dropbox, while installing commonsense security measures to prevent any instances of ballot harvesting.
An additional measure implemented under SB 202 was to address the confusion surrounding absentee ballot applications. Under previous Georgia law, applications to request an absentee ballot were not well regulated, with many voters reporting receiving a number of different request forms from third-party partisan groups, with some containing misleading language to make it appear like an official ballot. To clear up any confusion, SB 202 requires that absentee ballots must first be formally requested by the voter and sent only by the Secretary of the State’s Office and any unofficial official notice must clearly state that it is not in fact an official ballot.
The absentee ballots themselves were also given additional security measures. An absentee ballot will now require that a voter input their driver’s license number and their date of birth on the outer envelope of the ballot. If a voter does not possess a driver’s license, they may instead use the last four digits of their social security number. This is a more accurate and secure method of ensuring a voter’s identity, as opposed to a signature match. Voters also called for more flexibility when it came to when they could cast their ballot. SB 202 addresses these concerns by expanding early voting hours, with an additional Saturday voting day being required. Counties also maintain additional flexibility, as they may now operate their early voting polling stations as long as 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., or 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
With these new measures safely in place, every Georgian should be comfortable with voting in the upcoming election cycle and rest east knowing that additional security measures are in place to ensure all legal votes are counted accurately. If there are any instances of potential fraud during an election, SB 202 grants the Attorney General aggressive powers to investigate these cases and provides the state more oversight for underperforming election directors. Additionally, this year the Senate passed Senate Bill 441, which includes a measure that would grant the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) original jurisdiction over any crimes involving elections. This will allow the GBI to subpoena any relevant documents or records in order to get to the bottom of any potential election crimes. While these bills will not singlehandedly eliminate any potential for fraud to occur, they do add additional hurdles for potentially fraudulent activity and grants stronger authority for Georgia’s legal system to investigate and, if necessary, prosecute these cases.
With the primary election coming up in a few weeks, I hope all Georgians will feel confident and secure that every legal vote will be tabulated accurately. As an important side note, be aware that your representation in the state House, state Senate and the United States Congress may have changed as a result of redistricting, which occurs once every ten years following the census. I encourage all voters to double check their voting status and precinct location on the Secretary of State’s website for more information on who your elected officials are and view any available sample ballots.
If you have any questions or concerns about the provisions enacted under SB 202 or about what else is being done in Georgia to promote election integrity, please reach out to my office.
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Sen. Mike Dugan serves as the Senate Majority Leader. He represents the 30th Senate District, which includes portions of Carroll, Douglas and Paulding counties. He can be reached at 404.463.2478 or by email at mike.dugan@senate.ga.gov