Georgia lawmakers concluded a closely watched special session Monday, sending a consequential election-administration bill to Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk just days before a sweeping ban on QR-coded ballots was set to take effect.
Kemp signed Senate Bill 3EX into law on Wednesday, June 25, resetting the state’s timeline for overhauling its ballot-marking devices and adding a new safeguard for razor-thin statewide contests.
What the Law Does
The measure addresses two central concerns that have dogged Georgia’s election apparatus since the state adopted touchscreen ballot-marking devices in 2020:
QR code ban delayed until Jan. 1, 2028. Under existing law, counties were required to stop using machines that encode voter selections as QR codes by July 1, 2026. SB 3EX pushes that deadline back 18 months, giving the secretary of state’s office and county boards additional time to certify replacement equipment and train poll workers.
Mandatory hand recounts for close races. When the margin in either of the top two statewide races falls within 0.5 percentage points, county election boards must now conduct a hand recount of those contests. The provision is designed to bolster public confidence in results that hinge on a narrow gap.
Why Lawmakers Acted Now
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger had warned for months that the original July 1 deadline was unworkable. Replacement systems that print human-readable paper ballots without embedded barcodes have not completed the state certification process, and several county election directors told a Senate committee last month that a rushed transition could invite chaos during the November midterms.
“We are not abandoning the goal of full ballot transparency,” said the bill’s sponsor during floor debate. “We are ensuring we get there without jeopardizing the integrity of a single precinct.”
Critics, however, argued that the delay amounts to another reprieve for machines they say are vulnerable to tampering.
Reaction From Advocacy Groups
Election-integrity organizations that have pushed for paper-only ballots expressed frustration with the extended timeline but acknowledged the hand-recount provision as a meaningful concession.
Voting-rights groups offered a more measured response, noting that:
- The 2028 deadline includes quarterly progress reports to the General Assembly.
- Counties must begin pilot programs with certified replacement devices no later than March 2027.
- Funding for the transition was authorized in the current fiscal year’s supplemental budget.
What Comes Next
The secretary of state’s office is expected to release an updated certification schedule within 30 days. County election boards will be required to submit transition plans by September, setting the stage for a phased rollout that officials hope will be complete well before the 2028 presidential primary cycle.
Kemp, in a written statement after signing the bill, called the legislation “a responsible path forward that protects both election security and voter confidence.”
The hand-recount trigger will apply beginning with the November 2026 general election.
Lena Bishop is a politics reporter for WACN 21 News covering the Georgia legislature and state government. Contact her at lbishop@wacn21.com.
