Georgia Democrats are strongly opposing a Republican-backed amendment to a bill that would mandate hand recounts for the top two races in the state’s upcoming midterm elections. The amendment, approved by the Georgia Senate, would require a full hand recount of ballots for the governor's contest and the U.S. Senate election, should the bill pass the House.
This legislative action stems from a special session called partly to address a July 1 deadline that would ban the QR codes currently used for Georgia's official vote count. A law passed two years ago set this deadline, but lawmakers have not yet established a replacement tabulation method. Republicans in the Senate passed the amended bill on a party-line vote, but the House had not yet scheduled it for a vote as of Monday.
Democrats contend that a mandatory hand recount in November would lead to confusion and could undermine confidence in the election results. Research suggests hand-counting is more error-prone, costly, and likely to delay the reporting of results. State Rep. Saira Draper, a Democrat, criticized the Republican Senate's actions as "extraordinarily irresponsible with Georgia’s elections and people’s votes."
Conversely, Republican state Sen. Max Burns defended the amendment, stating that hand counts and machine counts can "coexist and confirm each other’s ultimate results." He asserted that the amendment aims to "strengthen" the bill and enhance "voter confidence in election security."
Georgia's current voting system utilizes QR codes on ballots for vote tallying. This system has been a target of criticism from former President Donald Trump, who has made unsubstantiated claims that voting machines in Georgia altered or deleted votes in the 2020 election, which he narrowly lost in the state. Dominion Voting Systems, the manufacturer of the machines, has actively refuted these claims in court. However, some election integrity advocates have also voiced concerns, citing potential vulnerabilities to hacking and questioning the accuracy of voters' selections due to the inability for the public to read QR codes directly.
The broader Senate bill proposes extending the July 1 deadline to January 1, 2028. It also calls for the creation of a committee tasked with recommending requirements for a new voting system, with findings due by January 31, 2027. State legislators would then be responsible for funding, acquiring, and implementing this new system for the 2028 election cycle. Plans to redraw Georgia’s congressional and legislative districts during the special session were postponed.