Georgia state senators restart quest for hand-marked paper ballots

[Pinback]

GOP voting proposal calls for hand-counted audits, limits on in-person early voting options.
By Caleb Groves, AJC, Mar. 3, 2026
https://tinyurl.com/462p56bt
OR
https://editions.ajc.com/shortcode/AJC412/edition/74cc9a48-242c-5ba5-d2f4-6610acecc4e9

Georgia state senators are taking another stab at ditching the state’s touchscreen voting system and replacing it with paper ballots filled out by hand.

A sweeping proposal passed by the Senate Ethics Committee on Monday would require switching to preprinted, handmarked paper ballots scanned by machines, end county- and municipality-wide in-person early voting, and overhaul how the state conducts election audits. It’s unclear how much the dramatic changes would cost to implement.

Backed by Senate Republican leaders, it reaffirms the position of influential senators to switch to paper ballots, although the House has taken no action on another Senate paper ballot proposal already in the House.

Georgia officials have until July to stop counting votes with QR codes. Lawmakers have until the end of the legislative session next month to figure out how to comply with the deadline.
-- SNIP --
Georgians will vote in the May primaries with countywide early voting and touch-screens. But come the November general election, voters would use paper ballots bubbled in by hand and be limited to one assigned early voting site if Senate Bill 568 passes.

- More at link above

Sounds more like "Start the Steal 2026" to me. Limiting voting to one day only, in person, with hand-marked paper ballots would make it much harder for people to vote, take much longer to tabulate and verify the votes, introduce more opportunities for errors and disruptions, and of course make it much easier for ICE and CBP goons to intimidate voters.

[LearnedHand]

1. We use paper ballots on my state

I love them and they are hard proof of election results.

[Pinback]

2. OK, good to know.

I would be OK with paper ballots in Georgia if this weren't coupled with a move to severely restrict (or even eliminate) early voting as well as mail-in ballots.

[LearnedHand]

3. Yeah i get that

Not minimizing the ratfucking one little bit. I just am a huge supporter of hand-filled paper ballots.