Public Comment
⚙
GeorgiaElectionsCybersecurity

A 2024 Georgia law requires the state to remove QR codes from ballots by July 2026. The legislature did not complete a replacement plan before the deadline, leaving possible outcomes that include a special session, litigation, modified voting equipment, or expanded use of hand-marked paper ballots. The controversy involves auditability, accessibility, equipment readiness, local staffing, cost, and public confidence. A ballot-marking device is a machine that helps a voter make selections and prints a paper ballot or record for tabulation. Georgia needs a system voters can verify and counties can actually operate. A hurried replacement could trade one trust problem for new accessibility, staffing, or counting failures.

Which voting system should Georgia use if QR-code ballots cannot meet the legal deadline?

Overall results

1
59% support · excluded by 8%
7

Voters with visual, mobility, or reading disabilities need a private and independent way to mark the same ballot as everyone else.

7

A phased transition with pilots and backup procedures is safer than forcing every county onto an untested system immediately before an election.

2
51% support
7

A voter can see a paper mark without trusting software, hidden codes, or a machine’s interpretation of the ballot.

3
51% support · excluded by 14%
7

Scanner-counted paper ballots provide a physical record and can be checked through statistically designed post-election audits.

7

Counties can report results promptly while retaining ballots for recounts, investigations, and public verification.

4
37% support · excluded by 16%
7

An established system with known weaknesses may be less dangerous than a statewide replacement rushed into service without training or realistic testing.

About the author

Anonymous

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