Secretary Raffensperger Launches Required Polling Place Warning: “This election will be decided by U.S. Citizens. Period.”
Atlanta, GA – Secretary Raffensperger announced Wednesday continued efforts to bring public awareness of election security to the forefront of this election. Continuing his effort to ensure American citizen-only voting in Georgia, the Secretary announced that the following notice will be posted in polling locations across the State:
ONLY UNITED STATES CITIZENS MAY VOTE IN GEORGIA IF YOU ARE NOT A UNITED STATES CITIZEN, IT IS A VIOLATION OF STATE AND FEDERAL LAW TO VOTE
The full notice can be viewed here
In a continued effort to uphold the integrity of the electoral process and ensure compliance with state and federal laws, Georgia election officials are reminding the public that voting in Georgia elections is a right reserved exclusively for United States citizens.
“Casting a vote is one of the most important elements of American citizenship,” said Secretary Raffensperger. “Any illegal vote dilutes the value of a citizen’s lawfully cast ballot. This election will be decided by U.S. Citizens. Period”
According to Georgia Code O.C.G.A. 21-2-216 (a)(2), it is explicitly prohibited for non-citizens to participate in any primary or election held within the state. The statute clearly states: "No person shall vote in any primary or election held in this state unless such person shall be a citizen of this state and of the United States."
Election officials remind all Georgians that adherence to these regulations is crucial in maintaining the fairness and integrity of all elections within the state. Any violation of this law is considered a serious offense and will be investigated thoroughly by the Secretary of State’s Investigations Division.
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Georgia is recognized as a national leader in elections. It was the first state in the country to implement the trifecta of automatic voter registration, at least 17 days of early voting (which has been called the “gold standard”), and no-excuse absentee voting. Georgia continues to set records for voter turnout and election participation, seeing the largest increase in average turnout of any other state in the 2018 midterm election and record turnout in 2020, and 2022. 2022 achieved the largest single day of in-person early voting turnout in Georgia midterm history utilizing Georgia’s secure, paper ballot voting system. Most recently, Georgia ranked #1 for Election Integrity by the Heritage Foundation, a top ranking for Voter Accessibility by the Center for Election Innovation & Research and tied for number one in Election Administration by the Bipartisan Policy Center.