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O.C.G.A. 21-2-133
O.C.G.A. 21-2-133
§ 21-2-133
Current through the 2021 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
GA - Official Code of Georgia Annotated > TITLE 21. ELECTIONS > CHAPTER 2. ELECTIONS AND
PRIMARIES GENERALLY > ARTICLE 4. SELECTION AND QUALIFICATION OF CANDIDATES AND
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS > PART 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
(a) No person elected on a write-in vote shall be eligible to hold office unless notice of his or her intention of
candidacy was filed and published no earlier than January 1 and no later than the Tuesday after the first Monday in
September prior to the election for county, state, and federal elections; no later than seven days after the close of the
qualifying period for nonpartisan elections in the case of nonpartisan elections for state or county offices; no later than
seven days after the close of the municipal qualifying period for municipal elections in the case of a general election;
or no later than seven days after the close of the special election qualifying period for a special election by the person
to be a write-in candidate or by some other person or group of persons qualified to vote in the subject election, as
follows:
(1) In a state general or special election, notice shall be filed with the Secretary of State and published in a
newspaper of general circulation in the state;
(2) In a general or special election of county officers, notice shall be filed with the superintendent of elections in
the county in which he or she is to be a candidate and published in the official organ of the same county; or
(3) In a municipal general or special election, notice shall be filed with the superintendent and published in the
official gazette of the municipality holding the election.
In the event that such intention of candidacy is filed and published by a person or group of persons other than the
candidate, such person or group of persons shall also file a written, notarized authorization by the candidate for
such filing and publication.
(b) In addition to the requirements contained in subsection (a) of this Code section, the person or persons giving
notice of intention of candidacy for a write-in candidate shall also file, with the appropriate official specified in
paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a) of this Code section, a copy of the notice as published with an affidavit
stating that the notice has been published and including the name of the newspaper and the date of publication, not
later than the fifth day after the deadline for filing and publishing such notice. The affidavit may be made by the
person giving notice of intention of candidacy or by the publisher of the newspaper in which the notice was published
or by an employee of the newspaper designated by the publisher.
(c) No person shall be eligible as a write-in candidate in a special or general primary, a special or general primary
runoff, or in a special or general election runoff.
(d) No person shall be eligible as a write-in candidate in a general or special election if such person was a candidate
for nomination or election to the same office in the immediately preceding primary.
(e)
(1) The Secretary of State shall certify and transmit to the election superintendent of each county affected within
five days following the deadline for the submission by write-in candidates of the notice and documentation
required by this Code section to be a write-in candidate in a general or special election the names of all persons
who have filed notices of intention to be write-in candidates with the Secretary of State for such general or special
election.
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O.C.G.A. § 21-2-133
(2) The county election superintendent shall certify within five days following the deadline for the submission by
write-in candidates for county offices of the notice and documentation required by this Code section to be a write-
in candidate in a general or special election the names of all persons who have filed notices of intention to be
write-in candidates with the county election superintendent for county offices for such general or special election.
(3) The municipal election superintendent shall certify within five days following the deadline for the submission
by write-in candidates for municipal offices of the notice and documentation required by this Code section to be a
write-in candidate in a general or special election the names of all persons who have filed notices of intention to
be write-in candidates with the municipal election superintendent for municipal offices for such general or special
election.
History
Code 1933, § 34-1017, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 1004, § 17; Ga. L. 1979, p. 963, § 1; Ga. L. 1987, p. 417, § 1; Ga. L. 1987, p.
1360, § 6; Ga. L. 1989, p. 682, § 1; Ga. L. 1997, p. 590, § 9; Ga. L. 1998, p. 295, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 21, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p.
52, § 6; Ga. L. 2001, p. 230, § 5; Ga. L. 2001, p. 269, § 6; Ga. L. 2001, Ex. Sess., p. 325, § 3; Ga. L. 2002, p. 437, § 1; Ga. L.
2005, p. 253, § 15/HB 244; Ga. L. 2011, p. 678, § 2/HB 158; Ga. L. 2012, p. 995, § 6/SB 92; Ga. L. 2017, p. 697, § 4/HB
268.
Annotations
Notes
THE 2017 AMENDMENT, effective July 1, 2017, added the ending undesignated paragraph of subsection (a).
EDITOR'S NOTES. --
Owing to the duplication in subsection designations in the 1987 amendments, the subsection (b) added by Ga. L. 1987, p. 1360
was unofficially redesignated as subsection (d).
EDITOR'S NOTES. --
In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, opinions under former Code 1933, § 34A-910 are included in the
annotations for this Code section.
Case Notes
JUDICIAL DECISIONS
CONSTRUCTION WITH O.C.G.A. § 21-2-494. --Trial court did not err in finding that O.C.G.A. § 21-2-494 was
constitutional, despite an election challenger's claim that it impermissibly allowed the exclusion of votes for write-in candidates
and because it did not require that voters be provided with notice that write-in votes for unqualified candidates would not be
counted, as: (1) it was undisputed that nine write-in votes were cast for individuals who were not eligible to hold office, as
these people did not give proper notice of their intention of candidacy; (2) no voters were disenfranchised; (3) each voter was
given the opportunity to vote for the candidate of his or her own choosing; and (4) the legislature properly exercised its power
when it limited the counting of write-in votes to votes cast for qualified write-in candidates. Brodie v. Champion, 281 Ga. 105,
636 S.E.2d 511 (2006).
CROSS REFERENCES. --
Persons not eligible to hold office, Ga. Const. 1983, Art. II, Sec. II, Para. III. Write-in votes in precincts using optical scanning
voting equipment, § 21-2-486.
LAW REVIEWS. --
For article, "Local Government Law," see 53 Mercer L. Rev. 389 (2001).
For note on the 2001 amendment to this Code section, see 18 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 114 (2001).
OFFICIAL QUALIFIED TO DECLARE WRITE-IN CANDIDATE INELIGIBLE. --The appropriate official to declare a
write-in candidate for county office ineligible who has received a majority of votes cast in the election but did not publish
notice of intention of candidacy at least 20 days prior to the election is the superintendent of elections of the county. 1984 Op.
Att'y Gen. No. 84-84.
ALR. --
Elections: validity of state or local legislative ban on write-in votes, 69 A.L.R.4th 948.
Hierarchy Notes:
Title Note
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Chapter Note
Hierarchy Notes:
Article Note
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Part Note
End of Document