Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia
Department 183 - RULES OF STATE ELECTION BOARD
Chapter 183-1 - GEORGIA ELECTION CODE
Subject 183-1-15 - RETURNS OF PRIMARIES AND ELECTIONS
Rule 183-1-15-.04 - Audit
Universal Citation: GA Rules and Regs r 183-1-15-.04
Current through Rules and Regulations filed through March 20, 2024
(1) Preparing for the Audit
1. Following November general elections in
even-numbered years, each county shall participate in a statewide risk-limiting
audit with a risk limit of not greater than 10 percent as set forth in this
rule prior to the certification by the Secretary of State.
2. Prior to county certification, the
election superintendent of each county shall prepare a ballot manifest as
instructed by the Secretary of State.
3. The contest to audit shall be selected by
the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall set a date, time, and
location after the November general election in even-numbered years to select
which contest to audit. Such meeting shall be open to the public. After
selecting the contest to audit, the Secretary of State shall publicly announce
which contest will be audited and publish the selected contest on the Secretary
of State webpage. In selecting the contest to audit, the Secretary of State
shall consider the below criteria:
a. The
closeness of the reported tabulation outcomes;
b. The geographical scope of the
contests;
c. The number of ballots
counted in the contests;
d. Any
cause for concern regarding the accuracy of the reported tabulation outcome of
the contests;
e. Any other benefits
that may result from auditing certain contests; or
f. The ability of the county to complete the
audit before the state certification deadline.
4. The audit shall be open to the public, and
public notice of the date, time, and location of the audit must be posted on
the county election office's website, or, if the county election's office does
not have a website, in another prominent location.
(2) Conducting the Audit
1. The audit shall be open to the view of the
public and press, but no person except the person(s) designated by the election
superintendent or the superintendent's authorized deputy shall touch any ballot
or ballot container. The election superintendent may designate a viewing area
from which members of the public may observe the audit for the purpose of good
order and maintaining the integrity of the audit.
2. The election superintendent shall create
audit teams comprised of at least two sworn designees to assist with the audit.
The superintendent may designate non-employees to assist with the audit
process. All persons who the superintendent designates to assist with the audit
shall take and sign an oath that they will conduct the audit accurately and
securely prior to assisting with the audit.
3. Chain of custody for each ballot shall be
maintained at all times during the audit, including but not limited to, a log
of the seal numbers on the ballot containers before and after completing the
manual audit.
4. For ballots marked
by electronic ballot markers, the auditors shall rely on the printed text on
the ballot to determine the voter's selection. For ballots marked by hand, the
auditors shall rely on the choices indicated by the voter by filling in the
oval adjacent to the candidate or question.
5. The audit shall end once all selected
ballots have been counted and the risk limit for the audit has been
met.
6. The election superintendent
shall report the results of the audit to the Secretary of State.
7. The election superintendent shall follow
instructions issued by the Secretary of State on how to specifically conduct
the audit, including but not limited to setting deadlines and formats for
creating ballot manifests.
O.C.G.A. §§ 21-2-31, 21-2-498.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Georgia may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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