Georgia legislators have submitted a bill that would require that the secretary of state create a far more detailed election reporting system for general primaries, general elections, and runoffs from general primaries and general elections.
“Such system shall provide for the entry of the number of ballots cast by type in each precinct, the results of state and federal races by precinct, the number of absentee ballots issued and returned, the number of absentee ballots certified, the number of absentee ballots rejected, the number of provisional ballots cast, and such other information which the Secretary of State deems relevant and useful to the citizens of this state,” according to the language of the bill.
“The Secretary of State shall ensure that all information required by this subsection is readily available on a publicly accessible website, including totals. As election returns become available, the county superintendent shall cause such information to be entered into the reporting system.”
The Georgia General Assembly’s website identifies State Sen. Bill Cowsert (R-Athens) as the bill’s primary sponsor.
According to the proposed law, as soon as polls close on the day of an election the county election superintendent would enter the number of absentee ballots issued and returned.
Prior to uploading any vote totals for a precinct into the reporting system, the county election superintendent would enter the number of in-person ballots cast in such precinct. The election superintendent would then enter the number of absentee ballots he or she received when the polls closed and the number of provisional ballots cast in such precinct, according to the bill.
These are among several proposed election reform laws that members of the Georgia General Assembly have filed this session.
As The Georgia Star News reported Sunday, five state senators in the Georgia General Assembly filed legislation that would, if enacted into law, provide people the right to a hearing when government officials challenge whether they may legally vote.
As reported last week, Georgia legislators have filed a bill that would require that government officials mail absentee ballot applications only to registered voters.
Also, as reported last week, eight members of the Georgia General Assembly have filed legislation that would, if enacted into law, increase penalties for election fraud within the state. Specifically, the bill would make it a felony to “tamper with, alter, destroy, modify, or falsify the electronic data constituting the official returns or votes cast in a primary, election, or runoff.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photos “State Se. Bill Cowsert” and “Georgia Capitol Building” by Georgia State Senate.
