Georgia Delays Scrapping Controversial Voting Machines Despite GOP Pressure

Georgia lawmakers are pushing back a deadline to eliminate barcode-based voting machines from July 2024 to 2028, despite pressure from Trump supporters and conservative activists. The delay comes after legislators failed to secure funding or agree on alternatives to replace the current Dominion voting system.

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Republicans appeared poised to eliminate the touch-screen voting equipment they’ve long criticized, but the complex logistics of overhauling election systems have created unexpected obstacles.

The practical challenges of switching voting technology have stalled progress, even with election skeptics now holding key positions in state government and Donald Trump returning to the White House.

Georgia voters will likely continue using Dominion Voting Systems equipment this November — now owned by Liberty Vote — which creates paper ballots featuring QR codes that scanning devices read to tabulate results.

Trump and his supporters maintain these machines altered or erased votes during the 2020 election, claims unsupported by evidence and contradicted by substantial defamation payouts to Dominion. Trump’s March 2025 executive order attempted to prohibit barcode vote-counting and require readable ballot selections, but a federal court halted the measure following Washington state’s legal challenge.

Georgia Republicans created their own dilemma when legislators enacted a law two years back establishing a July 1 deadline to eliminate ballot barcodes. Many citizens distrust vote-counting systems using codes people cannot decipher. However, lawmakers and election officials never reached consensus on implementation steps — and critically, never allocated necessary funds.

Conservative activists who have pushed for voting changes since Trump’s 2020 Georgia defeat strongly supported ending QR code usage. These supporters now dominate Georgia’s State Election Board and supplied allegations the FBI referenced when seizing 2020 ballots from heavily Democratic Fulton County, which remains central to ongoing fraud accusations.

“HAND. MARKED. PAPER. BALLOTS. I will not be moved. I shall not be moved. Got it?” State Election Board member Salleigh Grubbs posted on social media Sunday as news emerged about potentially postponing the July 1 deadline.

Machine critics point to computer programming that became public, including when Trump supporters accessed it from Coffee County’s elections office. While the equipment lacks internet connectivity, security analysis revealed software weaknesses that physical access could exploit. Dominion provided fixes for these issues, but Republican lawmakers never funded GOP Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s software updates.

Various proposals to meet the QR code elimination deadline involved dramatic changes to Georgia’s voting or counting procedures. One plan required hand-counting all early in-person ballots — the state’s most popular voting method. Another would assign voters to specific early voting sites instead of allowing county-wide location flexibility. Similar location restrictions caused voter confusion during recent Texas primary elections.

Behind these failed attempts lies growing agreement that hand-marked paper ballots counted by scanners represents the best solution. During Tuesday’s committee hearing, lawmakers expressed interest in purchasing on-demand ballot printers rather than pre-printing millions of ballots. However, they acknowledged insufficient time remains for major changes before November.

Republican Rep. Victor Anderson of Cornelia, who leads the House Governmental Affairs Committee, warned that abandoning barcodes this year risked “a severe upset in our election system.”

“It just wasn’t going to happen,” Anderson stated.

His committee instead approved legislation requiring new voting system selection by 2028 rather than July 1. Lawmakers also committed to funding new equipment for Georgia’s 159 counties.

The measure still needs approval from the full House and the more conservative Senate, with the Senate particularly likely to resist. Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, whom Trump has endorsed for his 2026 gubernatorial campaign, did not respond to comment requests.

One Republican state senator who previously championed hand-marked paper ballots now accepts that November implementation is impossible.

“I’m disappointed in the timeline, but at this point, we have the choice of making an informed legislative decision or unfortunately dealing with a legal option which is not realistic,” state Sen. Max Burns of Sylvania told The Associated Press following the hearing.

The bill includes provisions transferring some post-election audit authority from the secretary of state to the State Election Board — appealing to conservative activists but opposed by Democrats. David Worley, a former Democratic board member, described the group as “hyperpartisan” and questioned its audit capabilities and staffing.

Local election officials strongly support the delay, saying it prevents potential disorder.

“This is something that is setting us up for success and not failure,” said Deidre Holden, election director in Paulding County near Atlanta, regarding the postponement. “The timeline was my biggest concern.”