Georgia delays QR code phaseout for 2026 general election ballots

Georgia voters will cast ballots with machine-generated QR codes in the November general election. The state postponed the deadline for phasing out the codes, a decision that keeps the current tabulation method in place for another cycle. The delay stems from legislative inaction during the spring session, which forced a special meeting to resolve the transition.

The state legislature passed Senate Bill 189 in 2024 to alter how ballots are counted. Section 7 of that bill intended to stop using QR codes for tabulation. Instead, the system would rely on the printed text of a voter's selections for vote counts, recounts, and audits. The law set July 1, 2026, as the effective date for this shift. Lawmakers left the regular session this spring without passing a replacement method for the QR code system.

The lack of a replacement plan triggered a special session in June 2026. During that session, legislators passed Senate Bill 3EX, which Governor Brian Kemp signed into law. The new bill moved the effective date of the QR code phaseout to January 1, 2028. This two-year extension allows the state to maintain the current infrastructure while it develops a new system.

Senate Bill 3EX establishes a state committee to recommend specifications for a new uniform system of election equipment. The new system will be based on hand-marked paper ballots. The committee must submit its report by January 31, 2027. Until that date, the existing machines will continue to produce printouts that include both a QR code and the voter's selections in text.

The new legislation also introduces a specific trigger for hand recounts. If a qualifying contest in the general election is decided by a margin of 0.5% or less, the secretary of state must direct a full hand recount. This rule applies to races for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and state school superintendent. It also covers the insurance, agriculture, and labor commissioners, but only when their contest appears as the first or second item on the ballot.

The change means that close races in these executive offices will undergo a manual verification process. The threshold of 0.5% is the determining factor for when the secretary of state must initiate this procedure. Voters will still see their choices in text on the paper printout, ensuring a physical record of their selection remains available for the audit process.