Trending Now - Georgia's Plan to Replace Voting Machines Faces Complications

WHO:

President Trump, State Election Board member Salleigh Grubbs, Republican Rep. Victor Anderson, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, state Sen. Max Burns, David Worley (Democrat), Brad Raffensperger (GOP Secretary of State)

Dominion Voting Systems, Liberty Vote, Georgia's State Election Board, Fulton County

WHAT:

Georgia voters are likely to continue using Dominion Voting Systems' touch screen voting machines in the November 2026 elections.

An executive order issued by Trump in March 2025 aimed to ban the use of barcodes in vote-counting.

A law passed two years ago set a deadline of July 1, 2026, to remove barcodes from ballots.

A bill advanced by the House Governmental Affairs Committee requires the state to select a new voting system by 2028.

Local officials expressed that a delay in changing voting methods will help avoid chaos.

WHERE:

Georgia, specifically mentioning Fulton County and the Atlanta suburb of Paulding County.

WHEN:

The deadline to remove barcodes from ballots is set for July 1, 2026.

The new voting system must be selected by 2028.

The committee hearing referenced occurred on a Tuesday prior to March 19, 2026.

WHY:

There is a growing mistrust among some voters regarding ballots counted using codes that are not human-readable.

The delay in changing voting methods is seen as a way to prevent potential chaos in the election process.

HOW:

Proposals to meet the barcode removal deadline included drastic changes such as hand-counting every ballot and assigning voters to specific early voting locations.

Lawmakers are considering purchasing printers that produce ballots as needed instead of preprinting millions of ballots.

(UPDATED March 19, 2026 05:27 UTC)

In Georgia, voters are expected to continue using Dominion Voting Systems' touch screen machines for the upcoming November 2026 elections, despite a law requiring the removal of barcodes from ballots by July 1, 2026. Local officials believe that delaying changes to voting methods will help avoid chaos, as lawmakers explore options like hand-counting ballots and using on-demand printers for ballots. The House Governmental Affairs Committee has advanced a bill mandating that a new voting system be selected by 2028, amid growing concerns over the trustworthiness of ballots counted with non-human-readable codes.