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Five years ago, the General Assembly’s Republican majorities passed legislation providing for a paper backup to electronic ballots, a move aimed at giving Georgians more confidence their votes are being counted correctly.
But legislative leaders aren’t content with that election reform measure. This year, they’re pushing a series of bills aimed largely at paper ballots responding to election watchdog groups clamoring for more tools to ensure accurate outcomes.
“It will bring more confidence,” state Rep. Steve Tarvin, R-Chickamauga, said on the House floor Jan. 31. “It’s something we need to restore.”
The 2024 crop of election bills includes:
- Senate Bill 89 and House Bill 975, requiring use of the text portion of paper ballots in tabulating votes rather than QR codes.
- House Bill 974, requiring Georgia’s secretary of state to develop and implement a statewide system allowing members of the voting public to scan paper ballots.
- House Bill 976, requiring a “visible security device” in the form of a watermark on paper ballots.
- House Bill 977, expanding the number of races subject to “risk-limiting” audits.
The QR codes bill already has cleared the Senate Ethics Committee but remains pending before the House Governmental Affairs Committee. Republican lawmakers have cited numerous complaints from constituents about the use of QR codes.
“There’s been a lot of doubt surrounding the QR code, voters questioning whether the QR code is interpreting their vote accurately,” said Rep. John LaHood, R-Valdosta, chairman of the House Governmental Affairs Committee. “Having the actual text they can see and interpret themselves … is the right correction for us to go in.”
Former Republican Rep. Scot Turner of Cherokee…
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