Georgia midterms will decide who OKs how people vote in a battleground state

The vote for Georgia’s next secretary of state is more than a contest to choose the state’s next elections chief. It will also decide who OKs how people will vote in a presidential battleground state for years to come.

State lawmakers expect Georgia to implement a new voting system ahead of the 2028 presidential election. But the secretary of state must certify that system before it can be used.

The two candidates running for the job have vastly different visions for how that system will work. Republican Tim Fleming, a state representative, wants Georgia to use hand-marked paper ballots printed on demand. Democrat Penny Brown Reynolds, a former Fulton County judge and reality TV host, wants voters to select candidates on voting machines.

Debate over the state’s voting machines dates back to 2019 when the state first purchased the machines. After Republican Donald Trump’s narrow reelection loss to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020, he and his supporters falsely blamed the loss on widespread fraud — a criticism that has latched on to the electronic voting machines used by Georgia and other states.

Those touchscreens print out a paper ballot listing voters’ selections and a QR code, which scanners use to tally votes. Critics of the technology say that they cannot verify the accuracy of their vote because the QR codes are unreadable by humans and believe it to be less secure than hand-marked ballots. Officials have defended the system, pointing to audits showing the accuracy of the system.

Georgia spent about $107 million on the statewide touchscreen voting system manufactured by Dominion Voting Systems in 2019.

Fleming is a former deputy secretary of state who was Gov. Brian Kemp’s first chief of staff. He defeated four other Republicans in the primary, including Gabriel Sterling, a close ally of current Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. It was Raffensperger who, in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, refused Trump’s request to “find” enough votes to change the result.

Fleming has not echoed Trump’s false election fraud accusations. But he has said he believes there were “irregularities” in the 2020 election.

He is a member of a state legislative committee in charge of making recommendations on Georgia’s next voting system. He wants the next system to print hand-marked paper ballots for voters who request them. He says any discrepancies that arise can be adjudicated.

“I do believe that is where we’re heading in this state,” Fleming said.

Reynolds hosted “Family Court with Judge Penny,” a syndicated reality TV show that ran for one season from 2008-2009. When it comes to the next system, she favors voting machines because she believes hand-marked ballots are less accurate.

But if she wins, Reynolds could face a Republican-controlled state Legislature that could be hostile to her goals. She’s signaled her willingness to work across the aisle, but that could be a steep hill to climb given lawmakers have pushed through a series of Republican-backed voting bills since 2020.

“I’m a licensed mediator and arbitrator,” said Reynolds, who has no previous experience as a lawmaker or in the secretary of state’s office. “And I think that gives me something that other people don’t have — I look for common ground.”

If Fleming wins, he would come to the office directly from the General Assembly. He sees his experience in the Legislature and senior positions under Kemp’s tenure as secretary and governor as an asset.

“I have the experience day one to work with the people under the Gold Dome and the executive branch to get things done,” he said.

But what Fleming says is experience, Reynolds sees as a record open to criticism. She points to a 2015 data breach during Fleming’s tenure as deputy secretary of state that exposed the personal information of 6 million voters.

“So just because you have a record of occupying a space doesn’t mean you have a record of accomplishment,” Reynolds said.

An internal investigation by the office at the time blamed the breach on an information technology employee in the office who was later fired.

Reynolds has an edge over Fleming in campaign cash. She’s raised about $873,859 and lent her campaign a total of $50,100, according to the latest filings. Fleming has raised about $655,951 in contributions and lent his campaign $150,000.

The election comes as Trump is trying to wield more influence over election administration. He has said Republicans should “take over the voting” and nationalize it. The Department of Justice is investigating Fulton County’s 2020 election, including a raid in January where they seized ballots. And the administration has sued the state to seek personal information from voters, a request that was blocked by a federal judge last week.