Georgia state senators on Friday narrowly rejected a bill that would have required voters to use hand-marked paper ballots beginning before the November elections, WABE out of Atlanta first reported.
The vote leaves lawmakers scrambling to comply with an existing state law that bans QR codes on ballots later this year.
The Senate voted 27-21 against Senate Bill 568, two votes short of the 29 needed to pass in the 56-member chamber. Seven senators did not vote after warnings that switching voting systems this quickly could create administrative problems before upcoming elections.
The proposal, sponsored by Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, would have replaced Georgia's current touchscreen voting system with paper ballots filled out by hand.
Under the current system, voters make selections on a touchscreen machine that prints a paper ballot containing a QR code and text summary of the vote. Scanners read the QR code to tabulate results.
Critics of the system argue the QR codes prevent voters from independently verifying that the ballot recorded their choices correctly.
Supporters of hand-marked ballots note that most U.S. states use paper ballots marked by voters and then scanned for counting, which election technology groups say can be easier to audit.
Opponents of the measure said the transition timeline was too aggressive and risked disrupting election administration.
Sen. Kim Jackson, D-Stone Mountain, warned that implementing a new voting method before the fall elections could cause “chaos.”
Even with the bill's failure, Georgia lawmakers still face pressure to change the system. A state law passed two years ago requires the removal of QR-coded ballots starting July 1, meaning officials must still find a way to modify or replace the current voting equipment before the November election cycle.
Lawmakers could attempt to revive the proposal by attaching it to another elections bill still moving through the legislature.
The debate reflects Georgia's broader push to overhaul its voting procedures following the 2020 presidential election, when the state conducted multiple recounts and audits amid intense political scrutiny.
Since then, lawmakers have enacted several election changes, including adjustments to absentee voting rules, early voting procedures and ballot handling.
In late January of this year, the FBI executed a court-authorized raid at the Fulton County, Georgia, elections warehouse and seized roughly 700 boxes of 2020 election materials, including physical ballots, tabulator tapes, ballot images, and voter rolls as part of a federal investigation into possible election-law violations.
In light of Friday's vote, Georgia's May primary will proceed using the existing touchscreen voting system, while lawmakers and election officials face a tightening deadline to determine how to comply with the state's impending ban on QR-coded ballots before the fall elections.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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