Election Trust Gamble in Georgia

Georgia lawmakers just pushed QR-code vote counting into the midterms, leaving a system that many voters still do not trust.

Quick Take

Georgia will keep using its QR-code vote-counting system for the midterms after lawmakers delayed a fix.^[3]^[4]
A 2024 law said the state must move away from QR-code tallying by July 1, 2026, but no replacement is ready.^[2]^[6]
Election officials say changing systems now would be too late and too costly before the midterms.^[7]^[8]
Supporters of a hand-count approach say the issue is about trust, while critics warn about delays and confusion.^[5]^[6]

Lawmakers Delay the QR-Code Deadline

Georgia will keep using its current QR-code vote-counting setup for the November midterms after lawmakers moved to delay the deadline for changing it.^[3]^[4] The state passed a law two years ago that was supposed to end QR-code tabulation by July 1, 2026, but officials never put a new system in place.^[2]^[6] The latest bill would push that deadline to 2028.

That delay matters because the QR-code system has become a flash point in the broader fight over election trust. President Donald Trump and his supporters have long criticized QR-code ballot counting, and AP reporting says the system has faced criticism tied to those claims.^[5] At the same time, Georgia officials have not presented evidence that the system has been hacked or that vote totals were changed.^[5]

Why the Change Got Stuck

The biggest problem is not hard to see: lawmakers ordered the state to end QR-code counting, but they did not fund or finish a replacement.^[7]^[8] One report said election officials warned it was already too late to make major changes before the midterms.^[7] Another said counties would still need money, equipment, and time before any new system could be rolled out statewide.^[2]^[8]

Supporters of the delay argue that rushing a new counting method could create more problems than it solves. AP reporting says the legislation would also create a committee to recommend a replacement system, with lawmakers then responsible for funding and approval.^[1]^[2] That means Georgia is still in the same place it was months ago: a banned system on paper, but the old system still running in practice.

Security Questions Still Drive the Debate

Critics say the real issue is not speed, but trust. Georgia’s current voting machines print a paper ballot with a human-readable summary and a QR code that election equipment scans to count the vote.^[6] Critics say voters cannot verify what is inside the code.^[7]^[8] Supporters answer that the paper summary gives a check on the machine count, and reports say the system has been tested and certified.^[5]^[6]

Georgia lawmakers are considering changes to how the state conducts future elections.

A Senate committee advanced legislation that would create a panel to select a new voting system, increase post-election audits and delay the phaseout of QR code vote counting. The proposal now…

— The Augusta PRESS (@AugustaPress) June 23, 2026

That split is why the issue keeps returning to the same basic point: if lawmakers want a new system, they need to fund it, choose it, and install it before the next election cycle.^[1]^[2] Instead, Georgia has chosen delay. For voters who already worry about ballot security, that is not a confidence-building move. It is another reminder that election leaders can pass rules faster than they can fix the mess they create.^[7]^[8]