Georgia's Republican-led Legislature voted Tuesday to pump the brakes on a sweeping change to how the state counts votes, extending a self-imposed deadline by four years and narrowly avoiding a compliance violation with state election code.
The state's current voting system uses digital ballot-marking devices that print out a marked ballot with a QR code alongside a written summary of voter selections. Election officials use the QR codes to tabulate votes, though audits include a review of the spelled-out choices to verify results. In 2024, lawmakers voted to eliminate QR codes from the counting process by July 1 of this year, driven largely by unfounded fraud allegations and a long-running federal lawsuit questioning the integrity of Georgia's voting system.
The problem: actually making the switch proved far more complicated than anticipated. State officials warned in 2024 that modifying the current system could cost tens of millions of dollars. A complete replacement could run as much as $300 million. With the original deadline days away, lawmakers acted to delay implementation until the 2028 election cycle instead.
The bill, which cleared the state Senate 36-16, now heads to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature. It establishes a committee tasked with studying the necessary changes and submitting recommendations by the end of January.
The delay came after lawmakers failed to tackle the issue during Georgia's regular spring legislative session, forcing Kemp to convene a special session this month to address it. The governor had also asked legislators to redraw congressional and legislative maps ahead of 2028, following a major U.S. Supreme Court decision on redistricting. Lawmakers declined, citing insufficient time to take up the matter during the special session.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Georgia's lawmakers clearly realized throwing out an entire voting infrastructure on a political deadline was far more reckless than actually getting it right, even if that means waiting until 2028."
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