Senate committee hears bill to let voters request absentee (paper) ballots in person

Senator Burns, sponsor of Senate Bill 214 (LC 473286), told a Georgia Senate hearing that the bill would let a registered voter who presents at a polling place during early voting or on election day request an absentee ballot to mark and deposit instead of using the electronic ballot‑marking device. "What this bill would do would be to allow an elector to request to vote an absentee ballot when they show up in person to to cast their vote," Burns said, describing the change as an additional option that would not amend other aspects of state law.

The bill would let a voter, after check‑in and identification, receive the same physical absentee ballot used for mail absentee voting; that ballot would then be placed into a secured container and handled and tabulated in the same manner the bill ties to existing absentee procedures. "An absentee on request ballot is on the same physical type of ballot that is used for absentee ballots pursuant to an existing code section," Burns said during the hearing. The sponsor also noted current law requires an absentee ballot request be submitted 11 days before election day if it is to be mailed and returned by mail, and said this measure would remove that timing constraint for in‑person requests.

Why the proposal matters: supporters said the change would provide an option for voters who do not trust or are uncomfortable using ballot‑marking devices (BMDs). Tamara…