Ballot QR code bill headed to governor after Georgia lawmakers scale back hand-counting requirement
Georgia lawmakers dialed back a controversial change that would have mandated hand recounts of the two top-ticket races in every election before local officials could certify the results.
The hand-count provision was added by Senate Republicans over the weekend to a measure extending the state’s self-imposed deadline to stop using ballot QR codes to tally votes, prompting outcry from Democrats, local election officials and other advocacy groups.
The revised measure, which passed out of both chambers Tuesday largely along party lines, limits the use of hand recounts to only the governor’s or lieutenant governor’s race, and implements them only when the leading candidate’s margin of victory falls within half a percent of the candidate in second place. The state will reimburse counties for the cost of conducting a hand recount.
The bill also allows the state to continue using QR codes to tally votes until 2028, meaning they will still be in place for this year’s midterms, and mandates additional post-election audits on certain statewide contests and establishes a special committee to help select the state’s next voting system.
https://georgiarecorder.com/2026/06/23/ballot-qr-code-bill-headed-to-governor-after-georgia-lawmakers-scale-back-hand-counting-requirement/