Georgia reshapes future voting plans after avoiding QR code deadline

Georgia lawmakers have temporarily settled the state’s QR code ballot controversy, but a newly signed elections law may have a much bigger impact on how Georgians vote after 2028.

As first reported by The Georgia Recorder, Gov. Brian Kemp has signed legislation allowing counties to continue using QR codes to tabulate ballots through 2028. The extension comes after the state missed a deadline established under a 2024 law that would have required Georgia to abandon QR code ballot counting without providing funding for replacement equipment.

Rather than simply delaying the transition, the new law launches the process of choosing Georgia’s next voting system. It creates a special advisory committee to evaluate replacement equipment and requires expanded post-election audits for certain statewide races.

A late amendment added by Rep. Tim Fleming, the Republican nominee for secretary of state, gives that committee a more specific mission. Instead of reviewing every available voting technology, members will focus on systems that use hand-marked paper ballots, with ballot-on-demand printing identified as the preferred option. Under that approach, voters receive a customized paper ballot printed after checking in at their polling place.

The Legislature is not required to adopt the committee’s recommendation, but the amendment reflects growing support among many Republican lawmakers for replacing Georgia’s current ballot-marking devices with hand-marked paper ballots.

According to The Georgia Recorder, some Democrats and election experts worry the committee’s work has already been narrowed before it begins. State Rep. Saira Draper said she supports exploring hand-marked ballots but believes the review process should remain open to all voting system options to ensure transparency and public confidence.

Georgia’s existing voting equipment, purchased statewide in 2019 from Liberty Vote, has been used in every statewide election since 2020. The company later became the target of false election fraud claims following the 2020 presidential election and subsequently secured multimillion-dollar settlements through defamation lawsuits.

Election administrators say any transition will require careful planning. Joseph Kirk, who leads the Georgia Association of Voter Registration and Election Officials, said hand-marked ballots can make recounts more complicated because officials must sometimes interpret voter intent when ballots contain crossed-out selections or stray marks. He said those challenges are manageable but would represent a significant change from Georgia’s current machine-marked system.