Georgia Legislature Ends Special Session With Bill Delaying QR Code Ballot Ban, No Action on Property Taxes

The Georgia legislature passed a bill Tuesday that would continue the use of QR codes on ballots until 2028 and require hand recounts in certain close statewide races.

The measure applies to statewide offices such as governor, lieutenant governor and other state-level positions. It does not apply to federal races, including presidential elections.

The bill passed the House by a vote of 94 to 79 and cleared the Senate by a vote of 36 to 16.

Bill Narrowed Before Final Vote

Earlier Tuesday, a Georgia House committee reduced the scope of the controversial elections proposal.

An earlier version would have required hand recounts of the top two races on a ballot under all circumstances before election certification. The revised version of Senate Bill 3EX limits hand recounts to the top two statewide races only when the margin is within 0.5%.

Under the current version, the recount must be completed within 17 days. If signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp, the changes would take effect immediately.

QR Code Ballot Deadline Moved to 2028

The special legislative session ended Tuesday and was called in part because of a 2024 election law that would have banned QR code ballots starting in July.

Lawmakers failed to pass a replacement voting system during the regular legislative session this year, creating urgency around the issue.

Senate Bill 3EX moves the QR code ballot deadline to 2028, giving the state more time to develop a new election system.

Advisory Committee Would Recommend New Voting System

The bill also creates an advisory committee tasked with recommending a new election system for lawmakers to consider during the 2027 legislative session.

Members of the committee would be appointed by the governor, the Senate Committee on Assignments and the speaker of the House.

The House committee also added language requiring the advisory committee to make recommendations specifically for hand-marked paper ballots produced through ballot-on-demand printing.

Supporters Say Bill Could Build Voter Confidence

State Sen. Max Burns, a Republican from Sylvania and the bill’s author, said the measure is intended to improve confidence in Georgia elections.

Burns argued that Georgia has historically used both manual and machine counting, and that the two methods can work together to verify final results.

After the bill was amended, Burns said he supported the changes, noting that legislative negotiations rarely give every side everything it wants. He said the final version landed in a place that makes sense for Georgia.

Critics Warn Hand Counting Could Cause Problems

Advocates and Democratic lawmakers raised concerns about the bill during a Monday committee hearing.

Opponents argued that hand recounts could delay certification, increase costs and produce less accurate results.

Brittany Burns, an organizer with the Black Voters Matter Fund, said hand counting is more error-prone, more expensive and slower than machine counting. She warned it could delay election results and create certification challenges.

Some Democrats Supported Bill Despite Concerns

Although many Democrats opposed hand counting, some voted for the bill because they wanted the state to avoid confusion over its voting system after the July QR code deadline.

Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones said the special session was generally successful. He said some Senate Democrats supported SB 3EX because failing to act could have created chaos if Georgia had no clear election system after the QR code deadline.

Still, Jones indicated that support for the bill was not without discomfort.

Democrats Still Object to Hand Recounts

Several Democrats remained strongly opposed to the bill, especially its hand recount provision.

State Rep. Gabriel Sanchez, a Democrat from Smyrna, said hand recounts are likely to produce different results from the original count, not because of fraud, but because thousands of people would be manually counting millions of ballots.

Other Democrats argued the proposal was connected to continued disputes over the 2020 presidential election and claims made by President Donald Trump about Georgia voting machines.

State Rep. Jasmine Clark, a Democrat from Lilburn, said lawmakers were spending time revisiting 2020 election denial claims and presenting them as election integrity.

Concerns Raised About Advisory Committee Makeup

Some Democrats also questioned whether the election advisory committee would include enough bipartisan representation.

State Rep. Stacey Evans, a Democrat from Atlanta, asked why the bill did not require intentional bipartisan balance or recommendations from the minority party.

State Rep. Victor Anderson, a Republican from Cornelia and chairman of the House Governmental Affairs Committee, said he trusted House Speaker Jon Burns to make bipartisan appointments. Anderson said House study committees typically include members from both parties and that he believed the speaker would handle appointments appropriately.

Local Homestead Tax Referendums Fail to Advance

Another issue Gov. Kemp placed on the special session agenda involved local referendums on homestead tax exemptions for November ballots.

Earlier this year, Kemp signed Senate Bill 33, allowing local governments to increase sales taxes to fund property tax relief through a homestead exemption. The tax is called a Local Homestead Option Sales Tax, and residents would need to approve an exemption through a majority vote in a referendum.

Republicans argued voters should be allowed to decide whether to place these local property tax measures on the ballot.

State Sen. Bo Hatchett, a Republican from Cornelia, said lawmakers should let residents vote and have a seat at the table.

However, lawmakers did not reach the required two-thirds majority needed to place the referendums on local ballots.

State Rep. David Wilkerson, a Democrat from Powder Springs, opposed the idea, saying the proposal would have created a new sales tax on food and everyday purchases. He argued tax relief should not come through creating another tax.

Georgia lawmakers passed Senate Bill 3EX to extend QR code ballot use until 2028 and require limited hand recounts in close statewide races. Supporters say the measure gives the state time to plan a new voting system and could increase election confidence. Critics warn hand counting may be costly, slow and less accurate. Meanwhile, lawmakers failed to advance local homestead tax exemption referendums during the special session.