In a rare show of bipartisanship in Georgia elections, a few prominent Democratic lawmakers are supporting a Republican effort to move toward hand-marked paper ballots.
U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson is the most prominent Georgia Democrat so far to embrace the Republican proposal for a test-run of filling out ballots by hand instead of by machine during this November’s elections.
Although Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office quickly rejected the idea this week, state lawmakers could consider bills for hand-marked paper ballots when they return to the Capitol in January.
“It’s time for Georgia elections to be conducted free from the substantial threat of undetectable electronic manipulation,” said Johnson, a Democrat from Lithonia. “Hand-marked paper ballots will eliminate that threat.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
State Sen. Elena Parent and state Rep. Jasmine Clarke, both Atlanta-area Democrats, have also backed a voting system that includes hand-marked paper ballots. The Georgia House Democratic Caucus declined to comment Friday.
All Georgia voters currently are required to use touchscreens that print out ballots with computerized QR codes. Then scanning machines read the QR codes to record votes.
House Governmental Affairs Chairman Victor Anderson said legislators need to find a way to comply with a 2024 state law that requires the elimination of QR codes by July 1, 2026. Hand-marked paper ballots rely on bubbled-in ovals instead of computer-generated QR codes.
“It crosses partisan lines of people who distrust the current technology,” said Anderson, a Republican from Cornelia. “Let’s figure out the best decision for the voters of Georgia, keeping in mind policy, accuracy and performance rather than pure politics.”
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Anderson said he hasn’t taken a position on hand-marked paper ballots.
In recent years, election bills have usually been decided along party lines. Almost every Democrat opposed the 2019 legislation that required touchscreens, and nearly all Republicans supported it.
Republican opposition to the election equipment manufactured by Dominion Voting Systems has grown since President Donald Trump’s narrow loss in 2020, although allegations of widespread fraud have never been substantiated.
State Rep. Debra Bazemore, a Democrat from South Fulton, said she’s skeptical of switching the state’s voting equipment again.
“We need to make sure that we allow the people to speak with our votes and then accept the results, and stop changing the system back and forth,” said Bazemore, a member of the committee that handles election bills.
The state Senate already passed a bill this year calling for hand-marked paper ballots, and it’s now pending in the state House, where Republicans hold a 100-80 majority.
Parent, an Atlanta Democrat, said her support of a hand-marked paper ballot pilot project would depend on its feasibility and support from election officials.
“I have long been interested in a system that utilized hand-marked paper ballots and ballot scanners,” Parent said. “I think it is more secure and more representative of the voters’ intent because they can’t check a QR code.”
Although purchasing new statewide voting equipment probably isn’t realistic before next year’s elections, Anderson said lawmakers will try to find an interim solution early next year ahead of the 2026 elections.
Georgia’s existing ballot scanners are able to read hand-marked paper ballots, but Anderson said in a letter to Raffensperger this week that he needs to evaluate technology needs, accessibility for voters with physical disabilities, training requirements, ballot printing costs and voter satisfaction.
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