Provisional ballots are intended for individuals with “a good faith belief” that they registered to vote before the registration deadline and that they are eligible to vote at that precinct. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-418(a). While provisional ballots can still be a useful tool for enabling individuals to vote when a technical issue might otherwise disenfranchise them, the Georgia General Assembly has spent the last decade or so narrowing and restricting the circumstances in which Georgia voters can rely on this safety net for civic participation.
Within one day of an election, the Board of Registrars is required to begin examining the information provided by voters when they cast their ballot. The Board of Registrars is required to “make a good faith effort to determine whether the person casting the provisional ballot was entitled to vote in the … election.” Those efforts “include a review of all available voter registration documentation, including registration information made available by the [voters] themselves and documentation of modifications or alterations of registration data showing changes to a [voter’s] registration status.” O.C.G.A. § 21-2-419(b). If the Registrars are able to determine within three days after the election that a provisional ballot was cast by a person that was “timely registered to vote and was eligible and entitled to vote,” then the Board of Registrars will notify the Election Superintendent, and the provisional ballot will be counted. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-419(c)(1).
There aren’t different types of provisional ballots in Georgia. While the reasons why a provisional ballot may be issued are not prescribed by statute, the Secretary of State does provide a list of provisional ballot codes for poll workers to use. See “2021 Ga. Poll Worker Manual” at 81. Some common reasons for issuing a provisional ballot include: an individual is registered to vote, but in a different precinct than the one in which they are trying to vote; an individual believes they registered to vote on time, but their name does not appear on the list of voters; or an individual did not bring photo ID with them when they went to go vote. The reason that a provisional ballot is used can be important because it can affect whether the provisional ballot is “self-curing” (for instance, if the voter registered before the deadline, but that update was not uploaded to the voter check-in equipment) or require action on the voter’s part to “cure” their provisional ballot (for example, if they forgot to bring photo ID with them when they went to vote, they will have to take their photo ID into the Registrar’s office for their ballot to be counted).
The Election Superintendent must notify the Board of Registrars by the end of the day after the election that provisional ballots were cast, which in 2024 will be Wednesday, November 6. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-419(b). The Election Superintendent must also provide the Board of Registrars with the documentation completed by the voter that accompanies his or her provisional ballot. [1] O.C.G.A. § 21-2-419(b). The Board of Registrars must then “immediately examine the information contained on such documents and make a good faith effort to determine whether the person casting the provisional ballot was entitled to vote…” O.C.G.A. § 21-2-419(b). Finally, “[a]t the earliest time possible after the casting of a provisional ballot,” the Election Superintendent must inform the Secretary of State that the voter cast a provisional ballot, whether the ballot was counted, and if it wasn’t, the reason it was not counted. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-418(e).
Registrars are required to establish a “free access system” so that any voter that casts a provisional ballot can learn whether their ballot was counted, and if it was not counted, the reason for not being counted. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-418(e). This system can be set up as either a toll-free number or on a website. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-418(e).
Within three days of Election Day, the Board of Registrars must determine whether an individual who cast a provisional ballot was entitled to vote. In order for the provisional ballot to be counted, the Board of Registrars must find that the individual had timely registered to vote and was “eligible and entitled to vote in the precinct in which he or she voted.” If the Board of Registrars finds this is the case, then the Board of Registrars will notify the Election Superintendent of that determination, and the provisional ballot is counted and included in the certified election results. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-419(c)(1).
Additionally, parts of the provisional ballot may also be counted if the Board of Registrars determines that the individual was timely registered to vote and was “eligible and entitled to vote in the [county in the] … election but voted in the wrong precinct.” In this case the individual must have cast the provisional ballot after 5 p.m. (otherwise they would have been sent by the election staff to the appropriate precinct instead). O.C.G.A. § 21-2-418(a). In this situation, the Board of Registrars will also notify the Election Superintendent of the determination. The Election Superintendent will then count the individual’s “votes which were cast for candidates in [the] races for which the person was entitled to vote” based on the precinct they were registered in, “but [will] not count the votes cast for candidates in … races in which [that] person was not entitled to vote.” O.C.G.A. § 21-2-419(c)(2). This partial counting of the ballot is accomplished by duplicating the ballot with only the votes in the races in which the person was entitled to vote. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-419(c)(2). The Election Superintendent orders the “proper election official at the tabulation center” to fulfill this task, and this process takes place in front of and is verified by a witness. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-419(c)(2). **This new, duplicate ballot is then tabulated. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-419(c)(2).
Finally, in some cases a provisional ballot is rejected. This outcome can happen if the Board of Registrars determines that the individual was not eligible to vote. A provisional ballot is also rejected if the Board of Registrars is unable to determine whether the individual was registered before the registration deadline, or if it is unable to determine whether the individual was entitled to vote. After making this determination, the Board of Registrars informs the Election Superintendent and the ballot will not be counted. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-419(c)(3).
There are not public meetings at which determinations are made as to whether voters of provisional ballots are entitled to cast a ballot, because those determinations often require access to personal information that is protected by law. [2] However, voters do have the opportunity to submit supporting identification documentation to “cure” their provisional ballots. See e.g., Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 183-1-12-.18(5)(c). These determinations are conveyed to the Board of Elections, which will then count the ballots from individuals authorized to vote, and include those ballots in the certified election results. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-419(c)(1).