Georgia’s Senate Bill 202, the Election Integrity Act of 2021, rewrote the rules for absentee ballots, drop boxes, early voting hours, conduct near polling places, provisional ballots, runoffs, and state oversight of county elections. Signed in March 2021, it remains largely in effect, with most challenged provisions upheld in federal court as of late 2025. If you vote in Georgia, the changes that will most likely affect you are the absentee ballot ID requirement, the shorter window to request a mail ballot, the reduced number of drop boxes and their limited hours, and a hard cutoff for out-of-precinct provisional ballots.
Absentee Ballot ID and Deadlines
Georgia no longer verifies mail ballots by matching signatures. Instead, when you apply for an absentee ballot, you must write your Georgia driver’s license number or state ID card number on the application. If you have neither, you attest to that and include a copy of another approved form of identification.1Justia Law. Georgia Code 21-2-381 – Making of Application for Absentee Ballot The same ID information is checked again when you return the completed ballot.
The request window is tighter than it used to be. You can apply for an absentee ballot starting 78 calendar days before Election Day, and the application must be received no later than 11 calendar days before Election Day.2Georgia.gov. Vote by Absentee Ballot Under the old rules, requests were accepted up to 180 days out and as late as the Friday before the election. Plan earlier for both ends of the process, especially the closing deadline, which now falls roughly a week and a half before Election Day.
Drop Boxes: Fewer, Indoors, and Limited Hours
Drop boxes still exist, but they look nothing like the 24-hour outdoor boxes that appeared in 2020. Every county must offer at least one. Additional boxes are capped at the lesser of one per 100,000 active registered voters or the total number of early voting locations in the county.3Justia Law. Georgia Code 21-2-382 – Additional Buildings for Absentee Balloting Large metro counties that had deployed dozens of boxes now have far fewer.
Every drop box must sit inside the registrar’s office or inside an early voting location, and each one is open only during the hours early voting is being conducted at that site. When early voting ends for the day, the box closes. Locations require adequate lighting and constant surveillance by an election official, a law enforcement officer, or a licensed security guard.3Justia Law. Georgia Code 21-2-382 – Additional Buildings for Absentee Balloting Outdoor placement is allowed only during a governor-declared emergency. If you plan to use a drop box, check your county’s early voting schedule and locations first.
Standardized Early Voting
SB 202 set a uniform baseline across Georgia’s 159 counties. All counties must offer at least one Saturday of early voting during primary and general elections, with the option to add a second Saturday and up to two Sundays. Default daily hours run 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and counties can extend them from as early as 7:00 a.m. to as late as 7:00 p.m. For small counties that offered little weekend access, this is an expansion. For larger counties that offered more, the effect varied.
Mobile voting units, such as buses converted into polling places, are now banned outside of a declared emergency or disaster.
What You Can and Cannot Do Near a Polling Place
Within 150 feet of the outer edge of a polling place, or within 25 feet of any voter standing in line, no one may hand out money, gifts, food, or drinks to voters. A violation is a misdemeanor. Poll officers themselves may set up an unattended self-service water station for voters in line.4Justia Law. Georgia Code 21-2-414 – Restrictions on Campaign Activities, Giving of Food or Water, and Public Opinion Polling A volunteer handing a water bottle to a voter in line is not permitted; an unattended cooler placed by election staff is.
Provisional Ballots and the 5:00 p.m. Rule
If you show up at the wrong precinct, timing now controls whether your ballot counts. An out-of-precinct provisional ballot is counted only if you arrive at the wrong location after 5:00 p.m. on Election Day, sign a sworn statement (witnessed by a poll official) explaining why you cannot reach your correct polling place before polls close, and cast the ballot before regular closing time.5Justia Law. Georgia Code 21-2-418 – Provisional Ballots
If you arrive at the wrong precinct before 5:00 p.m., poll workers must send you to the correct location. A provisional ballot cast out of precinct before 5:00 p.m. will not be counted.6Georgia Secretary of State. SB 202 Impacts on Poll Officials Confirm your polling place before Election Day, and certainly before the afternoon.
Shorter Runoffs
Georgia used to hold runoff elections nine weeks after the election that triggered them. SB 202 cut that to 28 days.7Justia Law. Georgia Code 21-2-501 – Number of Votes Required for Election Early voting for a runoff is limited to the Monday through Friday before the runoff itself, with no required weekend days. If you rely on weekend early voting, plan to vote on Election Day or request an absentee ballot immediately after a runoff is called. A federal judge upheld the runoff provisions against a legal challenge arguing they disproportionately burdened voters.8Democracy Docket. Federal Judge Upholds Georgia’s New Runoff Provisions
Changes Behind the Scenes That Still Affect Voters
Mass Voter Eligibility Challenges
Any registered voter in a county may challenge any other registered voter’s right to vote in that same county, and there is no limit on how many challenges one person can file. The county board of registrars reviews each challenge for probable cause. If probable cause is found, the challenged voter is notified and given a chance to respond before any action is taken on the registration.9Justia Law. Georgia Code 21-2-230 – Challenge of Persons on List of Electors Several counties have seen mass filings under this provision. If you receive a notice, respond by the deadline it specifies.
State Election Board Takeover Authority
The State Election Board can now suspend a county or municipal election superintendent if at least three board members find, after a hearing, three or more election law violations across the last two general election cycles that were not sufficiently addressed, or gross negligence in administering at least two elections within a two-year period.10Justia Law. Georgia Code 21-2-33.2 – Extraordinary Relief; Hearings The Board then appoints a temporary replacement to run local election operations. SB 202 also stripped the Secretary of State of a voting seat on the Board; the chair is now appointed by the General Assembly.
Poll Watchers
Poll watchers designated by parties, political bodies, or candidates may observe polling places, early voting sites, tabulation centers, and absentee ballot processing, positioning themselves “as close as is practicable” to the activity being observed. They cannot talk to voters, record, use phones, or campaign inside the enclosed space.11Justia Law. Georgia Code 21-2-408 – Poll Watchers; Designation; Duties
Where the Law Stands in Court
SB 202 drew multiple federal lawsuits shortly after passage, including one from the U.S. Department of Justice and separate suits from voting rights organizations. The DOJ dropped its case after the change in presidential administrations in January 2025. As of late 2025, a federal judge upheld several key provisions, including restrictions on third-party organizations distributing absentee ballot applications, finding the state had a compelling interest in reducing voter confusion and increasing electoral efficiency. Voting rights groups are still pursuing their remaining claims. For now, the rules described above are the rules you vote under.