(The Center Square) – Georgia voters would hand-mark their ballots during the November 2026 general election under a bill approved by the Senate Ethics Committee on Monday.
Passage was 8-4 of Senate Bill 568 amid questions about the timing of the change and other parts of the bill, including a large fine for local election boards that allow ineligible voters to cast ballots.
Some state election officials said they support hand-marked ballots but did not have enough time to train poll workers or make changes. If approved, the bill would not affect the May 19 primary.
Sen. Kim Jackson, D-Stone Mountain, proposed an amendment that would move the effective date of the bill to July 1, 2027, after the November election.
“We’ve heard from experts that this is too soon,” Jackson said. “And so I am asking for us to change that.”
The amendment failed.
Cumming Republican Greg Dolezal, a frequent critic of Georgia’s elections, sponsored the bill, saying it is in response to Senate Bill 189, passed by lawmakers in 2024, that takes effect July 1. The bill requires eliminating the use of QR codes to tabulate results. Republicans said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has done nothing that indicates he is ready to eliminate the codes.
Raffensperger’s office told The Center Square that the accusations were not true and said the office would issue a further response soon. Raffensperger defended the state’s elections in a previous interview with The Center Square.
“We were pursued by Stacey Abrams and her allied groups over 10 times and I met her and beat here and her allies in court every single time because our laws were right, they were good laws,” Raffensperger said.
The bill also gives the Georgia State Election Board the authority to fine local elections boards $10,000 for every person on a voter roll not eligible to vote. It also reduces the number of early voting polling locations.
Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts told the committee he felt like Dolezal’s bill was targeting his county. Dolezal has called for a state takeover of Fulton County’s elections.
The FBI raided the Fulton County Department of Registrations and Elections in January, seizing boxes of tabulator tapes, ballots, and other election materials. Fulton County has sued the FBI for the return of the boxes. A judge ordered the parties to mediate the dispute.
“The author of this legislation has repeatedly called for the state takeover of Fulton County elections,” Pitts said. “His intent is clear. Let me be crystal clear. We in Fulton County, we’re going to fight every effort to take over elections in Fulton County with every legal resource we have.”
The bills initially allowed a recount if the difference between two candidates was less than 2%, a change from the current 0.5%. An amendment approved by the committee changed the threshold to 1%.
It now goes to the Senate Rules Committee.
