The 2026 elections may seem like a long way away, but that’s not how state lawmakers see it.
Plans — from new voting machines to even more new voting laws — are already underway as a special legislative committee dominated by Republican lawmakers met for the first time Tuesday.
Members of the House Study Committee on Election Procedures are considering replacing Georgia’s touchscreen voting system, reviewing voter registration accuracy and complying with a state law that requires removal of inscrutable QR codes from ballots by July 1.
Meanwhile, several legislators angling for higher office are looking to boost their resumes — including committee Chairman Tim Fleming, who recently filed paperwork to begin raising money to run for secretary of state.
“The purpose of this committee is clear: To take a comprehensive, nonpartisan, data-driven look at how elections are conducted across the state of Georgia,” Fleming said. “We are not here to litigate past elections but rather to prepare Georgia for the future,” he added.
However, it is clear that some activists do want to revisit the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, with one witness testifying Tuesday to a round of applause that he did not believe former President Joe Biden legitimately won.
“We’re not going to do that,” Fleming told the crowd.
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Between campaigns and a big election year, lawmakers know they’re heading toward a contentious legislative session in 2026.
House Governmental Affairs Chairman Victor Anderson warned in April of a “train wreck coming,” referring to the state law mandating removal of QR codes from ballots. The mandate is expected to cost $66 million, but lawmakers earlier this year failed to provide a way to pay for it.
Critics of QR codes oppose them because they contain voters’ choices on ballots but aren’t readable by the human eye, making it impossible to verify that scanning machines are accurately recording voters’ choices. Audits after each election compare hand counts with machine counts to ensure election results were correct.
Instead of a pricey elimination of QR codes, some lawmakers are pitching an alternate solution: replacing Georgia’s Dominion voting system entirely with paper ballots filled out by hand without QR codes.
A new voting system could cost taxpayers more than $200 million. Lawmakers would need to act quickly to get it in place for the 2028 presidential election.
The House committee could also revisit proposals that failed last legislative session, such as withdrawing Georgia from a multistate voter registration accuracy organization called ERIC and examining the powers of the State Election Board. The Georgia Supreme Court recently limited the State Election Board’s authority to create new voting rules without approval of the General Assembly.
During Tuesday’s committee meeting, a parade of citizens shared their interests for what the committee should study, including ballot access for third parties, mitigating election disinformation and switching to paper ballots counted by hand.
The committee is scheduled to meet six times through October before making recommendations for new laws during next year’s legislative session.
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