Georgia is heading into the November midterm elections without a clear answer to a voting system problem its own legislature created and then failed to resolve. Lawmakers adjourned for the year without passing a measure that would have extended a deadline requiring the state to move away from its current touch-screen voting machines, leaving election officials in an uncertain position with no allocated funding and no approved replacement.
The state Senate did not act on a House-passed bill that would have pushed the implementation deadline from July 1 to 2028. Without that extension, the state is now exposed to potential litigation over how the November elections will be administered, and questions about the integrity of the process are likely to follow regardless of what officials do next.
How Georgia got here
The current situation traces back to a decision made two years ago to phase out the touch-screen voting machines Georgia adopted in 2019 at a cost of $107 million. Those machines, which were first used during the 2020 presidential election, generate a QR code that tabulates votes. Voters make their selections on a screen, which then prints a paper ballot displaying their choices alongside the QR code that is actually used for counting.
Critics have long argued that the system is vulnerable because voters have no way to verify what information is encoded in the QR code. A long-running federal lawsuit claimed the system was fundamentally susceptible to hacking and error, and during the trial a cybersecurity expert demonstrated the ability to compromise one of the machines in open court. A federal judge ultimately dismissed the case, with the state arguing the system was secure under real-world operating conditions.
The machines also became a focal point for unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud following the 2020 election. Former President Donald Trump repeatedly asserted that results in Georgia had been manipulated, and the QR code system became a recurring element in those arguments despite a lack of evidence supporting them. Lawmakers voted to discontinue the machines partly in response to that sustained pressure, even as election officials defended the system’s integrity.
The cost of changing course
Replacing or significantly modifying the current system would not be inexpensive or straightforward. State officials have estimated that changes to the existing infrastructure could run into the tens of millions of dollars, while a full replacement could cost as much as $300 million. No funds have been set aside for either option.
Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer in the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, testified during the federal trial that overhauling the election system during an active election year would be an extraordinarily disruptive undertaking. His description of the scenario underscores why the legislature’s failure to act before adjourning creates such a difficult position for the officials responsible for actually running the elections.
Georgia
The midterms arrive with the state carrying significant weight on the national political map. Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff’s seat is a top Republican target, and both parties are competing for the open governor’s race being vacated by GOP Governor Brian Kemp. Georgia has been a genuine battleground since 2020, and the attention that comes with that status means any disruption to the voting process will receive scrutiny from both sides.
The absence of a legislative fix means litigation is now the most likely path toward any resolution. Courts could be asked to weigh in on whether the state is legally required to implement a new system before November, what that system must look like, or whether the current machines can continue to be used while longer-term changes are pursued. Each of those questions introduces uncertainty that election administrators, candidates and voters will be managing simultaneously in the months ahead.
