SB 303: Elections and Primaries; state-wide uniform system of voting equipment; revise provisions

Georgia currently uses electronic ballot markers and ballot scanners statewide, and the Secretary of State certifies and selects that equipment. This bill moves that authority to the State Election Board and changes the basic method of voting: instead of electronic ballot markers and scanners for in person voting, the state would move to hand marked paper ballots that are counted by hand in public at the polling place. Each polling place would still have to offer an electronic ballot marker for voters with disabilities who cannot use a hand marked ballot, and that equipment would also need State Election Board certification. The bill adds new requirements that voting equipment cannot be remotely accessible and must be made and maintained by American owned companies using American made parts and American citizens. It removes a prior exception letting small counties use simple physical ballots for certain local special elections, and updates absentee ballot scanning rules to match. The changes take effect January 1, 2026.

• Transfers authority to certify and select the state's uniform voting equipment from the Secretary of State to the State Election Board.
• Requires county, state, and federal elections to use hand marked paper ballots that are counted by hand in public at the polling place, instead of electronic ballot markers and scanners.
• Requires each polling place to still provide an electronic ballot marker for voters with disabilities who cannot use a hand marked ballot, certified separately by the State Election Board.
• Requires voting equipment to be incapable of remote access and to be made, maintained, and operated by American owned companies and American citizens using American made components.
• Removes the existing option for county election superintendents in small counties (fewer than 5,000 registered voters) to use simplified pen and paper ballots for certain local special elections.
• Updates the absentee ballot scanning law (O.C.G.A. § 21-2-386) to remove a reference to the old certification requirement, aligning it with the new hand count system.

County election officials and superintendents, the Secretary of State's office, the State Election Board, voters casting ballots at the polls, voters with disabilities who rely on ballot marking devices, municipalities that contract with counties for voting equipment, and companies that manufacture voting equipment.

If enacted, county poll workers would count paper ballots by hand in public rather than relying on electronic scanners, changing how election results are tabulated and how long counting takes. Voters with disabilities would keep access to a marking device, and equipment vendors would face new American ownership and manufacturing requirements.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 21-2-300 to move certification and selection of voting equipment from the Secretary of State to the State Election Board.
• Section 1 requires ballots to be hand marked by voters and tabulated in a publicly recorded hand count at the polling place, replacing electronic ballot marker and scanner use for in-person voting.
• Section 1 requires each polling place to provide an electronic ballot marker, separately certified, for electors with disabilities who cannot use a hand marked ballot.
• Section 1 requires all tabulation, results, and voter authentication equipment to be incapable of remote access and produced and maintained exclusively by American owned companies and citizens using American made parts.
• Section 1 repeals the prior allowance for small counties (under 5,000 registered electors) to use simplified physical ballots for certain local special elections and referenda.
• Section 1 removes the prior requirement that equipment be certified by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission before purchase.
• Section 2 amends the absentee ballot scanning procedure (O.C.G.A. § 21-2-386) to remove a cross-reference to the old certification rule while keeping the scanning and digital image requirements.
• Section 3 sets the effective date as January 1, 2026.

1. 2025-02-28Senate Read and Referred (Senado)
2. 2025-02-27Senate Hopper (Senado)

• Colton Moore (R, SD-053)Patrocinador principal
• Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)
• Greg Dolezal (R, SD-027)

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