HB 960: Gwinnett Judicial Circuit; superior courts; provide twelfth judge

This bill's title refers to adding a twelfth judge to the Gwinnett Judicial Circuit, but the Senate Committee on Ethics substitute replaces that content entirely with a broad rewrite of Georgia's election code (Title 21, Chapter 2). It requires county registrars to post the official list of eligible voters as a public record five days before advance voting begins, and it creates civil fines of up to $100 per registration for registrars who fail to remove voters after a successful challenge. Starting July 1, 2026, Georgia elections must use an optical scanning system with hand marked paper ballots, tabulated by scanners with infrared counterfeit detection, while electronic ballot markers remain available for voters with disabilities. The bill changes ballot printing rules, requires posting a list of who voted after polls close with the Secretary of State archiving that data, changes the automatic recount threshold from a 0.5 percent margin to 1 percent, requires manual hand count recounts, and mandates manual recounts for top statewide races within a set margin. It also limits the Secretary of State's role in risk-limiting audits, giving the State Election Board oversight instead.

• Requires county boards of registrars to post the official voter list as a public record at least five days before advance voting starts.
• Creates civil fines of up to $100 per registration when a board of registrars fails to remove a voter after a successful challenge.
• Mandates that after July 1, 2026, Georgia elections use optical scanners with hand marked paper ballots and infrared counterfeit detection instead of the prior electronic ballot marker system.
• Requires posting a list of everyone who voted after polls close and directs the Secretary of State to keep an unchangeable archival database of those lists.
• Lowers the automatic recount trigger from a margin of 0.5 percent to 1 percent of votes cast, and requires recounts to be done by manual hand count.
• Requires an automatic manual recount for president, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General races within the margin, and removes the Secretary of State's oversight role in risk-limiting audits unless the State Election Board requests it.

County boards of registrars and election superintendents, the Secretary of State's office, the State Election Board, candidates in close races, voters and people who file voter eligibility challenges, and companies or counties that supply or operate voting equipment across Georgia.

These changes would alter how Georgians vote and how election results are checked statewide, shifting Georgia toward hand marked paper ballots, adding penalties for registrars who mishandle voter list challenges, lowering the recount threshold so more close races trigger hand recounts, and reducing the Secretary of State's role in vote audits.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 21-2-224 so the voter list becomes a public record five days before advance voting, not just before the election date.
• Sections 2 and 3 add civil fines of up to $100 per registration for boards of registrars that fail to remove voters after successful challenges under O.C.G.A. §§ 21-2-229 and 21-2-230.
• Section 4 amends O.C.G.A. § 21-2-300 to require optical scan hand marked paper ballots for elections after July 1, 2026, while keeping electronic ballot markers accessible for voters with disabilities.
• Sections 5 and 6 revise ballot printing and design rules, including a required line connecting a candidate's name to their selection oval and serialized ballot batch identifiers.
• Section 7 clarifies that timing marks may be used by optical scanners to read a voter's selection, addressing O.C.G.A. § 21-2-379.23.
• Section 9 requires posting a list of everyone who voted after polls close and directs the Secretary of State to maintain a permanent archival database of those lists.
• Section 12 lowers the automatic recount margin from 0.5 percent to 1 percent, requires manual hand count recounts, and mandates automatic manual recounts for major statewide offices within that margin.
• Section 13 limits the Secretary of State's role in risk-limiting audits under O.C.G.A. § 21-2-498, giving primary oversight to the State Election Board instead.

1. 2026-03-27Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
2. 2026-03-27Senate Third Read (Senate)
3. 2026-03-27Senate Engrossed (Senate)
4. 2026-03-25Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
5. 2026-03-25Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
6. 2026-03-19Senate Withdrawn & Recommitted (Senate)
7. 2026-02-03Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2026-02-02House Passed/Adopted (House)

• Jasmine Clark (D, HD-108)Primary sponsor
• Chuck Efstration (R, HD-104)
• Matt Reeves (R, HD-099)
• Samuel Park (D, HD-107)
• Segun Adeyina (D, HD-110)
• Arlene Beckles (D, HD-096)
• Greg Dolezal (R, SD-027)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 2, 2026

   167 yea, 1 nay (3 not voting, 4 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #468

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 19, 2026

   30 yea, 20 nay (2 not voting, 2 absent)

   Motion To Withdraw And Commit: Senate Vote #744

3. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2026

   31 yea, 18 nay (4 not voting, 1 absent)

   Motion To Engross: Hb 229, Hb 583, Hb 960, Hb 1070: Senate Vote #826

4. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2026

   32 yea, 21 nay (0 not voting, 1 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #827

5. FailedSenate voteMarch 27, 2026

   21 yea, 31 nay (1 not voting, 1 absent)

   Motion For Reconsideration: Senate Vote #828

• election rules
• voter registration
• voting equipment
• recounts and audits
• election transparency