Georgia's vote-counting method will soon be banned. Lawmakers will try
to find a fix this week
[June 15, 2026]
By KATE BRUMBACK
ATLANTA (AP) — When Georgia lawmakers return to the Capitol this week
for a special session, they are expected to try to clean up an election
mess of their own making.
The election system used throughout the political battleground state
relies on a QR code printed on ballots to tally the votes. Legislators
passed a law two years ago barring the use of that barcode for the
official vote count beyond July 1 of this year, but no replacement
method of tabulating votes was ever implemented.
One of the instructions Republican Gov. Brian Kemp laid out for
lawmakers when he called the special session is to “address issues
created” by that law. Meanwhile, the secretary of state's office and the
State Election Board have further muddied the waters by issuing
conflicting guidance for county election officials about how votes
should be cast and counted.
If the issues are not resolved soon, there is likely to be confusion and
possibly litigation over the state's elections after July 1. A special
election to fill a U.S. House seat is scheduled for that month.
How did we get here?
Georgia's current election system was first used statewide during the
2020 primary. After the general election that year, when Republican
President Donald Trump narrowly lost the state to Democrat Joe Biden,
Trump and his supporters claimed without evidence that the machines had
deleted or switched votes.
Trump's backers continued to complain about the touchscreen voting
machines, with some loyalists espousing wild conspiracy theories.
Election integrity advocates also criticized the machines, saying they
are vulnerable to hacking and that voters cannot be sure their
selections are accurately reflected because people can't read QR codes.
Republican lawmakers in 2024 tried to address those concerns by passing
a law banning barcodes for the “official tabulation count” after July 1,
2026. But in the two years since, no other counting method has been
adopted. Now, the deadline is fast approaching and a major midterm
election looms.
Trump singled out those machines, which are used in at least some
counties in more than a dozen states, in his first executive order on
elections shortly after he took office for his second term in January
2025. That order has been blocked by multiple courts and is not being
enforced.
The governor steps in
Last month, Kemp announced a special legislative session, scheduled to
start Wednesday, to draw new congressional maps for the 2028 elections
and to address the QR code issue.
It's possible that lawmakers could extend the deadline in the law to
allow the QR codes to be used for now and give themselves some breathing
room to come up with a new system before elections in 2028. But in the
waning hours of the regular legislative session earlier this year, they
rejected a proposal that would have done that.
Even if lawmakers agree on a solution, it might be tough to implement
before a special election to fill the remainder of the term of U.S. Rep.
David Scott, who died in April. The special election is set for July 28,
with early voting beginning July 6.
Secretary of state offers guidance to election offices
The secretary of state's office last week issued guidance to election
officials in the six counties included in that congressional district.
The office says it's preliminary and subject to change based on any
developments from the special session.
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Courtney Parker votes on a new voting machine, in Dallas, Ga., Nov.
5, 2019. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)
The ballots will be run through the scanners, which will read the QR
code to generate the election night vote count. Then, before county
certification, electronic images created by the scanners for each
ballot will be uploaded to a server, where optical character
recognition software will be used to tally the votes using the
human-readable text. The results of that second process will be the
official tabulation count.
The secretary of state's guidance expressly says counties must
continue to use the current election system, including the
touchscreen voting machines, and that there is nothing in the law
that authorizes the use of hand-marked paper ballots for in-person
voting.
Conflict with the election board
The State Election Board weighed in two days later with conflicting
guidance. Board members argued the plan proposed by the secretary of
state is not authorized by law.
The board passed a resolution instructing counties on what to do if
the special legislative session does not result in an extension of
the deadline for using QR codes. The resolution directs counties to
use their emergency backup, which calls for hand-marked paper
ballots with scanners used to count voters' selections.
When asked about the conflicting guidance during the election board
meeting, Elizabeth Young, a lawyer with the state attorney general's
office, said that while the guidance is not binding, "obviously it
would cause confusion for elections superintendents if they are
getting differing instructions from two agencies, both of which have
some authority over what they’re doing.”
The election board has been controlled by a Trump-aligned majority
and is often at odds with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a
Republican who is a frequent Trump target.
Local election officials are in the middle
Henry County in Atlanta's suburbs is one of the counties where
voters will go to the polls for next month's special election.
Axiver Harris, interim elections director, said the county is aware
of the conflicting guidance and is awaiting further clarification
from the state.
“Given the uncertainty surrounding the guidance currently available,
we believe it is wise to wait for further direction to ensure that
any decisions made are consistent with state requirements and
election administration best practices,” he wrote in an email.
Marcye Scott, who is running in the special election to serve the
remainder of her late father's term, said she is not sure most
voters are even aware of the issue and is focusing her attention
elsewhere.
“My goal is to get people to the polls, get my people to the polls
and get them to vote for me,” she said.
But Carlos Moore, another of the six candidates running in the
special election, said he is worried about legal challenges if a new
method of vote-counting is implemented without enough time. He hopes
lawmakers extend the deadline to allow the use of the QR codes for
now.
“I would ask that legislators do the right thing, leave well enough
alone for the special election," he said. “Otherwise, it’s almost
certain there will be challenges in court.”
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