Georgia § 21-2-101 - Certification program for county and municipal election superintendents or election board designee; waiver of certification; failure to comply; remedial training; regulatory authority.

§ 21-2-101. Certification program for county and municipal election superintendents or election board designee; waiver of certification; failure to comply; remedial training; regulatory authority.

All county and municipal election superintendents, chief registrars, and absentee ballot clerks or, in the case of a board of elections or a board of elections and registration, the designee of such board charged with the daily operations of such board shall become certified by completing a certification program approved by the Secretary of State within six months following their appointment. Such program may include instruction on, and may require the superintendent to demonstrate proficiency in, the operation of the state's direct recording electronic voting equipment, the operation of the voting equipment used in such superintendent's jurisdiction, and in state and federal law and procedures related to elections. The local government employing the superintendent or designee shall cover the costs, if any, incurred by such superintendent's or designee's participation in the certification program. Such certification programs shall be offered by the Secretary of State on multiple occasions before December 31 of the year in which such superintendents or designees are appointed and shall not exceed 64 hours of classroom, online, and practical instruction as authorized and approved by the Secretary of State. Reserved. A full, partial, or conditional waiver of the certification requirement may be granted by the Secretary of State, in the discretion of the Secretary of State, upon the presentation of evidence by the election superintendent or board that the individual was unable to complete such training due to medical disability, providential cause, or other reason deemed sufficient by the Secretary of State. In the event that a municipality authorizes a county to conduct its elections pursuant to Code Section 21-2-45, the municipality may be granted by the Secretary of State, in the discretion of the Secretary of State, a waiver of the certification requirement, provided that the superintendent in charge of running the municipal election shall have previously completed a certification program approved by the Secretary of State and has demonstrated a proficiency in the operation of the voting equipment used in said municipality. A superintendent and the county or municipal governing authority which employs such superintendent may be fined by the State Election Board for failure to attain the certification required in this Code section. After notice and hearing as provided in Chapter 13 of Title 50, the "Georgia Administrative Procedure Act," the State Election Board may require additional or remedial training or limit, suspend, or revoke the certification of a superintendent if such superintendent is found to have violated any provision of this chapter or any rule, regulation, or order issued by the State Election Board. In its discretion, the State Election Board may reinstate such certification. The State Election Board is authorized to promulgate, amend, or repeal rules and regulations for the implementation of this Code section. Such rules and regulations may include provisions related to additional or remedial training or the limitation, suspension, revocation, or reinstatement of a superintendent's certification issued by the Secretary of State. (Code 1981, § 21-2-101 , enacted by Ga. L. 2003, p. 517, § 9; Ga. L. 2005, p. 253, § 12/HB 244; Ga. L. 2007, p. 544, § 1/SB 194; Ga. L. 2008, p. 781, § 5/HB 1112; Ga. L. 2010, p. 914, § 5/HB 540; Ga. L. 2017, p. 697, § 1/HB 268; Ga. L. 2018, p. 1112, § 21/SB 365.) The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, substituted "within six months following their appointment" for "by no later than December 31 of the year in which they are appointed" at the end of the first sentence of subsection (a); substituted the present provisions of subsection (b) for the former provisions, which read: "Any county chief registrar or municipal absentee ballot clerk appointed prior to January 1, 2010, who has not met the certification requirement shall complete a certification program approved by the Secretary of State by no later than December 31, 2011"; and added subsections (e) and (f). The 2018 amendment, effective May 8, 2018, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, revised punctuation in the first sentence of subsection (e).