09 LC 28
4695
House
Bill 665
By:
Representatives Hamilton of the
23rd,
Scott of the
153rd,
Amerson of the
9th,
Collins of the
27th,
Hanner of the
148th,
and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 2 of Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to primaries and elections generally, so as to provide for a pilot program for
the 2010 general primary and general election for the electronic transmission of
absentee ballots by military and overseas citizens; to provide for the
requirements and procedures for such program; to provide for certain rules and
regulations; to provide for certain reports; to provide for related matters; to
repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
2 of Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to primaries
and elections generally, is amended by revising Code Section 21-2-387, which is
reserved, as follows:
"21-2-387.
(a)
The Secretary of State shall, subject to the availability of funding, develop
and implement a pilot program for the electronic transmission, receipt, and
counting of absentee ballots by persons who are entitled to vote by absentee
ballot under the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, 42
U.S.C. Section 1973ff, et seq., as amended, in the 2010 general primary and
general election.
(b)
Such pilot program shall provide, at a minimum, for:
(1)
The encryption of information and the transmission of such information over a
secure network;
(2)
The authentication of such information;
(3)
The verification of the identity and eligibility of the elector to vote in the
primary or election, as the case may be;
(4)
The protection of the privacy, anonymity, and integrity of the ballots
cast;
(5)
The prevention of the casting of multiple ballots by the same elector in a
primary or election;
(6)
The prevention of any tampering, abuse, fraudulent use, or illegal manipulation
of such system;
(7)
The uninterrupted reliability of such system for casting ballots by qualified
voters;
(8)
The capability of the elector to determine if the electronic transmission of the
ballot was successful;
(9)
The ability to audit such ballots and to verify that such ballots were properly
counted; and
(10)
The ability to verify that the information transmitted over the secure network
was not viewed or altered by sites that lie between the voting location and the
vote counting destination.
(c)
The Secretary of State shall develop procedures by which persons who are
eligible to utilize the pilot program to vote shall be notified of its
availability and the procedures and methods for its utilization.
(d)
The Secretary of State and the State Election Board are authorized to promulgate
such rules and regulations as necessary to implement the provisions of this Code
section.
(e)
The Secretary of State shall review the results of the pilot program and shall
provide the members of the General Assembly with a comprehensive report no later
than January 10, 2011, on the effectiveness of such pilot program with any
recommendations for its continued use and any needed changes in such program for
future elections.
(f)
This Code section shall be repealed by operation of law on July 1,
2011
Reserved."
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.