Georgia will keep its current QR-code-based vote-counting method in place for the 2026 midterm elections after the state Legislature passed a bill Tuesday addressing a fast-approaching deadline that would have banned the technology.
The Republican-controlled state House and Senate approved legislation that extends the use of QR codes — the machine-readable barcodes printed on ballots that serve as the official record of a voter’s selections for tabulation — through the November elections. The measure defers any replacement of the system until 2028.
Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, had called lawmakers into a special session in part to address a July 1 deadline that was set to ban the QR codes. Legislators passed a law two years ago establishing that deadline but subsequently failed to find a replacement method for tabulating votes before it took effect. As MSI previously reported, Georgia lawmakers ended their regular session in April without a plan for new voting machines.
Leaders in the Legislature said the plan to delay action had Kemp’s support.
Along with postponing changes to the vote-counting equipment, the new law narrows a provision that requires a hand recount of ballots in certain races.
Some voting rights advocates urged lawmakers to delay any changes to the QR code system, warning that insufficient time remained before the midterm elections to ensure a new system would not create confusion at polling sites. Georgia is a political swing state, and voters will decide competitive races for U.S. Senate and governor this fall.