The tabulation of the ballots is the “[p]rocess of totaling votes.” “Glossary of Elect'n Terms” at 93. It precedes the canvassing process which is “[a]ggregating or confirming every valid ballot cast and counted, which includes absentee, early voting, Election Day, provisional, challenged, and uniformed and overseas citizen. “Glossary of Elect'n Terms” at 18.
Since 2020, all types of ballots cast in Georgia are required to be tabulated using an optical scanning voting system. See Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 183-1-12-.01. While the tabulation process concludes the same way, how voters cast their ballot can vary based on when and where they complete their ballot.
Under Georgia law, any voting that occurs before Election Day is categorized as “absentee voting.” That includes both ballots cast by individuals voting in person before Election Day (i.e., “advance voters”), as well as ballots that are cast through the mail (i.e., “vote-by-mail ballots”). Aside from absentee voting, there is the obvious choice of voting in person on Election Day.
From a voter’s perspective, the process of casting a ballot during Advance Voting or on Election Day will appear the most similar. For purposes of tabulation, however, Advance Voting ballots and vote-by-mail ballots are more similar. To better understand why that is, see Casting a Ballot. Nevertheless, the adoption of ballot-marking devices and ballot scanners now means that Georgia will always have a paper backup of each vote cast, regardless of the kind of ballot that is used by a voter. All these ballots are run through optical scanning equipment to tabulate votes.
Both Election Day and Advance Voting are “conducted using electronic ballot makers and ballot scanners…” Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 183-1-14-.02(1). That equipment is the same in each county. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-300(a)(1). Emergency paper ballots, provisional ballots, and vote-by-mail ballots are not cast using these machines. However, all three of these types of ballots are also tabulated using a ballot scanner. “2021 Ga. Poll Worker Manual” ****at 37.
Pre-processing of absentee ballots (i.e., ballots from Advance Voting and vote-by-mail) is required by Georgia law, but the process can be viewed as happening in three phases. Phase one is the review of an outer envelope (comparing the voter’s identification information and date of birth with what is on file, and confirming that the voter’s signature is present — there is no signature matching). O.C.G.A. § 21-2-386(a)(1)(B). For Advance Voting, this phase is accomplished when an individual checks in at a polling place. O.C.G.A § 21-2-385(a). Phase two is the scanning, but not tabulating, of ballots, and that can begin at 8 a.m. on the third Monday prior to the election (Monday, October 21, for the 2024 general election). O.C.G.A. § 21-2-386(a)(2)(A). For Advance Voting, this phase is accomplished by the voter inserting their ballot into the ballot scanner at the polling place. O.C.G.A § 21-2-385(c). Phase three is the tabulation of absentee ballots, and that can begin at 7 a.m. on Election Day. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-386(a)(3). Recently enacted legislation now requires that all absentee ballots that have been “verified and accepted” by the Monday before the Election must be tabulated and the results reported on Election Day by the later of either 8 p.m. or within one hour after polls close in a county. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-386(a)(3).
Vote-by-mail ballots are either received by the Board of Registrars or by an Absentee Ballot Clerk. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-386(a)(1)(A). Once received, a Registrar or Absentee Ballot Clerk will record the time and date that ballot was received on its outer envelope. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-386(a)(1)(B). **[1]
The Registrar or Absentee Ballot Clerk then confirms that the driver’s license number or state identification card as well as the voter’s date of birth provided on the outer envelope matches the information contained by the voter’s registration information. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-386(a)(1)(B). Next, the Registrar or Absentee Ballot Clerk will confirm that the voter signed the oath on the outer envelope, and once all these steps have been satisfied, the Registrar or Absentee Ballot Clerk will either sign their name or place their initials below the voter’s signature on the outer envelope. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-386(a)(1)(B). Finally, the voter’s name will be included on a precinct-by-precinct list of voters whose absentee ballot has been received and will be counted. See O.C.G.A. § 21-2-386(a)(1)(B).
Georgia requires a signature match when reviewing returned vote-by-mail ballots; however, litigation that was settled in 2020 led to changes in the process. [2] Originally, a variation in the voter’s signature on the outer envelope from the signature provided on the voter’s original registration could spoil the ballot as a signature mismatch.
Now, if a Registrar or Absentee Ballot Clerk determines that the voter’s signature on the outer envelope “does not match any of the voter’s signatures on file,” that Registrar or Absentee Ballot Clerk “must seek review from two other registrars, deputy registrars, or absentee ballot clerks.” That ballot cannot be rejected (for signature match purposes) “unless a majority of the registrars, deputy registrars, or absentee ballot clerks reviewing the signature agree that the signature does not match any of the voter’s signatures on file….” “Notice of Settlement” at 4.
Phase two authorizes the Election Superintendent to remove the inner envelope from the outer envelope of vote-by-mail ballots that have been verified and confirmed to be from eligible voters. It can (although it is not required to) begin at 8 a.m. on the third Monday prior to the election (Monday, October 21, for the 2024 general election), but the Election Superintendent must provide the Secretary of State with written notice at least seven days prior to beginning this phase. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-386(a)(2)(A). As long as three people who are either a Registrar, Deputy Registrar, poll worker, or Absentee Ballot Clerk are present, the ballot can also be removed from the inner envelope and inserted into the scanner. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-386(a)(2)(A). Tabulating or trying to cause any sort of count or estimate is still prohibited at this point. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-386(a)(2)(A).