Plain English Breakdown
The official bill title mentions an effective date will be provided, but the specific date is not listed in the summary or metadata provided.
HB1108: Changes to Georgia's Voting Equipment Rules
This bill moves the power to choose voting machines from the Secretary of State to the State Election Board and requires statewide elections to use paper ballots marked by hand.
What This Bill Does
- Transfers responsibility for selecting and certifying the state-wide uniform system of voting equipment from the Secretary of State to the State Election Board.
- Requires that the state-wide uniform system uses hand-marked and hand-counted paper ballots.
- Allows voters who cannot mark their own ballots to use ballot marking devices.
- Mandates that municipal elections must use the same voting equipment as statewide elections.
- Updates rules for scanning absentee ballots to match the new system.
Who It Names or Affects
- The Georgia State Election Board
- Voters in statewide and municipal elections
- Election officials who manage voting equipment
Terms To Know
- State-wide uniform system of voting equipment
- A single type of voting machine or ballot method used for all state elections to ensure consistency.
- Hand marked and hand counted paper ballots
- Ballots where voters write their choices directly on the paper, which are then tallied by people rather than machines alone.
- Ballot marking devices
- Tools that help voters who cannot mark a ballot themselves to record and print their votes onto a paper sheet.
Limits and Unknowns
- The official summary states the bill provides an effective date, but does not specify what that date is.
- The source material does not explain how much funding has been set aside for cities to buy or switch to the required equipment.