The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 7, 2026
The Georgia legislature’s term ran out before passing an election bill removing QR codes from ballots. It may require a special session to fix before the midterms.
Georgia implemented a $107 million dollar touch screen voting system in March 2020, which generates a printed ballot with a QR code to aid in ballot counting. The Georgia Recorder reports that a 2024 law banned such bar codes by July 2026 over complaints that voters could not verify their accuracy.
With the session deadline looming, the Georgia House passed Senate Bill 214 to extend the deadline, but the Senate did not bring it to the floor before adjourning.
The bill’s advocates anticipate a special session of the legislature will be needed to meet the July deadline.
Two other election bills died, including one which would have returned to hand-marked ballots scanned by optical ballot readers by the 2026 midterm. It would have required replacing the 2020 equipment with new election equipment at a cost of millions more dollars.
Another bill, rooted in far-right conspiracies, would have pulled Georgia out of ERIC, the Electronic Registration Information Center. Ironically, ERIC is a multi-state cooperative providing voter registration list hygiene, identifying voters who die or move, or whose registration is duplicated, or in rare cases, fraudulent.
We’ve linked to the local reporting at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
Government Technology – (2019) Georgia Awards $107M Voting Machine Contract to Dominion
Votebeat – (2024) Georgia bill to strip QR codes from ballots would cost tens of millions of dollars
Georgia Recorder – Lawmakers unveil proposal to replace Georgia’s voting machines before 2028 presidential election
Georgia Legislature – Text of HB 960, replacing Georgia’s Touch Screen Voting System with Hand-Marked Ballots & Tabulators
Georgia Recorder – Election measures capsize on the final day of Georgia’s 2026 legislative session
Georgia Legislature – Text of SB 214, Extending Deadline for Removal of QR Codes
Georgia Recorder – Will Georgia join a GOP-led state exodus from a multistate voter accuracy group?
Related ADM Reports:
American Democracy Minute – (2023) States Are Leaving the ERIC Voter Registration Cross Referencing System. Why? Conspiracy Theories.
Register or Check Your Voter Registration:
U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register And Vote in Your State
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