Republican lawmakers push for hand-marked ballots in Georgia's November election

Mark Niesse, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Sep 2, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Key Georgia lawmakers Tuesday called for a rapid test-run of hand-marked paper ballots in this year’s elections, switching from touchscreens in some polling places.

The rush to try paper ballots filled out by hand follows mounting pressure from President Donald Trump, conservatives and election security activists who oppose electronic voting touchscreens.

A switch would comply with part of a state law passed last year requiring the elimination of computerized QR codes from ballots by July 1, 2026.

Two House Republican committee chairmen stressed “the urgency of the matter” in a letter to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

“It is imperative to begin testing viable alternatives to the continued use of QR-coded ballots,” wrote House Governmental Affairs Chairman Victor Anderson, R-Cornelia, and House elections study committee Chairman Tim Fleming, R-Covington.

Under their proposal, Raffensperger would ask counties and cities to voluntarily participate in the trial of hand-marked paper ballots during the election for Public Service Commission on Nov. 4.

Raffensperger has defended the security and accuracy of Georgia’s voting system, saying audits repeatedly show Georgia’s vote counts are correct. But he didn’t immediately comment Tuesday on the lawmakers’ request.

“No matter how you look at it, it’s never been easier to vote, and it’s hard to cheat,” Raffensperger said last month. “We verify how accurate the machines were versus the hand-marked paper ballots, and the machines have never had an error yet.”

Georgia has used election equipment manufactured by Dominion Voting Systems that combines touchscreens, ballot printers and scanners since 2020. Opposition to the technology has grown since Trump’s narrow loss that year, though allegations of fraud have never been proved.

A full statewide transition to hand-marked paper ballots would require millions of dollars in taxpayer funding, but existing ballot scanners could read hand-marked paper ballots, just like they can scan absentee ballots.

Marilyn Marks, executive director of the election security group Coalition for Good Governance, said hand-marked paper ballots allow voters to ensure their ballot reflects their choices.

About 70% of voters across the United States use paper ballots filled out by hand, according to the election technology organization Verified Voting.

“This pilot is a smart, low-risk step toward evidence-based elections that Georgia needs before 2026,” Marks said. “It’s time to trade gimmicky claims of ‘audits’ for real evidence and verified outcomes.”

The Georgia Republican Party also supported the effort for a hand-marked paper ballot pilot program.

“We are confident that the counties who decide to opt-in to the pilot program will be able to present their processes and results to the Legislature, which will make passage of this program a no-brainer,” Georgia Republican Party Chairman Josh McKoon said.

Georgia lawmakers plan to consider a permanent change to hand-marked paper ballots as soon as January, when the General Assembly convenes its 2026 session.

The state Senate already passed a bill this year that would require Georgia voters to bubble in their choices at polling places instead of using touchscreens. Senate Bill 214 is now pending in the state House.

_____