HB 1108: Elections; state-wide uniform system of voting equipment; revise provisions

Georgia currently uses electronic ballot markers and ballot scanners chosen and certified by the Secretary of State to run elections. House Bill 1108 would take that certification and equipment-selection authority away from the Secretary of State and give it to the State Election Board. It would also change how ballots are cast and counted: instead of ballots marked by electronic machines and tabulated by scanners, voters would mark paper ballots by hand and those ballots would be counted in a publicly recorded hand count at the polling place. Electors with disabilities who cannot use a hand marked ballot would still have access to an electronic ballot marker that produces a paper ballot, and that device would also need State Election Board certification. The bill requires any tabulation, result publication, or authentication equipment to be incapable of remote access and made and maintained entirely by American-owned companies and citizens. It also removes an existing option letting small counties use pen-and-paper ballots for certain low-turnout special elections, and it makes a conforming change to absentee ballot scanning rules. The changes would take effect January 1, 2027.

• Transfers authority to certify and select the statewide voting equipment system from the Secretary of State to the State Election Board.
• Requires elections to use hand marked paper ballots that are counted in a publicly recorded hand count at the polling place, replacing electronic ballot marking and scanner tabulation.
• Requires each polling place to keep an electronic ballot marker available only for electors with disabilities who cannot use a hand marked ballot.
• Requires all vote tabulation, result publication, and voter authentication equipment to be incapable of remote access and made by American owned companies using components made and maintained by American citizens.
• Removes the existing option that let counties with fewer than 5,000 registered electors use pen-marked paper ballots for certain special elections and special primaries.
• Removes the requirement that voting equipment be certified by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission before purchase, lease, or acquisition.

County election officials and superintendents, the Secretary of State's office, the State Election Board, voters casting ballots at the polls or absentee, voters with disabilities who use ballot marking devices, municipalities that contract with counties to use state voting equipment, and companies that manufacture or maintain voting equipment.

Georgians would vote using hand marked paper ballots counted by hand at the polls instead of electronic ballot markers and scanners, changing how quickly and by whom results are tallied. Oversight of equipment certification would shift to the State Election Board, and equipment sourcing rules would tighten to require domestic ownership and staffing.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 21-2-300 to shift certification and selection authority for the statewide voting system from the Secretary of State to the State Election Board.
• Section 1 requires ballots to be hand marked by the elector and counted in a publicly recorded hand count at the polling place, rather than marked and scanned electronically.
• Section 1 requires each polling place to provide an electronic ballot marker for electors with disabilities, which must also be certified by the State Election Board.
• Section 1 requires all tabulation, result publication, and voter authentication equipment to be incapable of remote access and sourced from American owned corporations using components made and maintained by American citizens.
• Section 1 removes the prior authorization for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission certification requirement before equipment purchase.
• Section 1 repeals the existing option allowing counties with fewer than 5,000 registered electors to use pen-marked paper ballots for certain special elections, subject to State Election Board approval.
• Section 2 makes a conforming change to O.C.G.A. § 21-2-386 concerning the scanning and digital imaging of absentee ballots.
• Section 3 sets the effective date of this Act as January 1, 2027.

1. 2026-02-03House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-02House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-01-29House Hopper (House)

• Charlice Byrd (R, HD-020)Primary sponsor
• Noelle Kahaian (R, HD-081)
• Bill Fincher (R, HD-023)

• election equipment
• voting machines
• hand counted ballots
• State Election Board
• absentee ballots