Georgia’s special legislative session starts Wednesday, and while partisan fights about redistricting are likely to dominate and attract daily protests, there is one issue that legislators must come to an agreement on: What to do about Georgia’s election system.
The state’s current election equipment uses QR codes to count ballots, but has faced criticism from cybersecurity experts and proponents of hand-marked paper ballots, who say that ballots should be counted based on text that can be deciphered by humans.
Under a state law passed in 2024, QR codes cannot be used to tally election results starting in July, but Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger told lawmakers that changing systems would require about $66 million in state funds to purchase new equipment. During both the 2025 and 2026 legislative sessions, lawmakers adjourned without appropriating the funds necessary to make the switch.
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