A Georgia effort to dump voting machines that Donald Trump hates may get derailed by fear of a chaotic last-minute shift in election methods. Republican lawmakers in 2024 had passed a law requiring Georgia to stop using computerized barcodes to count votes by July 1 of this year. That lines up with a call by Trump to ban barcodes in vote counting.
Live updates: A rare statement from Iran's supreme leader signals retaliation over Larijani's killingJudge throws prosecutor out of court and orders leaders of NJ’s US Attorney’s office to testifyTrump’s tariffs are hurting American manufacturers instead of helping themWADA delays decision over potential ban of Trump from major sporting events until after World CupAP Entertainment WireViral phenomenon in Argentina has young people identifying themselves as animalsRaccoon goes on drunken rampage in Virginia liquor store and passes out on bathroom floorIf someone's always late, is it time blindness, or are they just being rude?Inspired by Picasso, an AP photographer visualizes a blind person ‘seeing’ artMezcal's popularity is booming in the US.
That comes with a growing environmental cost in MexicoTrump administration widens Medicaid fraud crackdown to Florida, calling it a 'hotspot'Judge blocks US government from slimming down vaccine recommendationsYoung people are turning to old-school hobbies to get off their phonesIf someone's always late, is it time blindness, or are they just being rude?Polygamous sect's sway has dwindled in twin towns on Arizona-Utah line. Residents enjoy new freedomsRenuncia asesor antiterrorismo de Trump, dice que Irán"no presentaba una amenaza inminente" That comes with a growing environmental cost in MexicoTrump administration widens Medicaid fraud crackdown to Florida, calling it a 'hotspot'Judge blocks US government from slimming down vaccine recommendationsYoung people are turning to old-school hobbies to get off their phonesIf someone's always late, is it time blindness, or are they just being rude?Polygamous sect's sway has dwindled in twin towns on Arizona-Utah line. Residents enjoy new freedomsRenuncia asesor antiterrorismo de Trump, dice que Irán"no presentaba una amenaza inminente"Voting machines are seen at the Bartow County Election office, Jan. 25, 2024, in Cartersville, Ga. State Rep. Victor Anderson, R-Cornelia, speaks at a House Governmental Affairs Committee meeting at the Paul D. Coverdell Legislative Office Building in Atlanta on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, to consider legislation to push back the deadline to stop counting votes with QR codes. State Sen. Max Burns, R-Sylvania, speaks at a committee meeting at the Paul D. Coverdell Legislative Office Building in Atlanta on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, to consider legislation sponsored by Burns to push back the deadline to stop counting votes with QR codes. Voting machines are seen at the Bartow County Election office, Jan. 25, 2024, in Cartersville, Ga. Voting machines are seen at the Bartow County Election office, Jan. 25, 2024, in Cartersville, Ga. State Rep. Victor Anderson, R-Cornelia, speaks at a House Governmental Affairs Committee meeting at the Paul D. Coverdell Legislative Office Building in Atlanta on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, to consider legislation to push back the deadline to stop counting votes with QR codes. State Rep. Victor Anderson, R-Cornelia, speaks at a House Governmental Affairs Committee meeting at the Paul D. Coverdell Legislative Office Building in Atlanta on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, to consider legislation to push back the deadline to stop counting votes with QR codes. State Sen. Max Burns, R-Sylvania, speaks at a committee meeting at the Paul D. Coverdell Legislative Office Building in Atlanta on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, to consider legislation sponsored by Burns to push back the deadline to stop counting votes with QR codes. State Sen. Max Burns, R-Sylvania, speaks at a committee meeting at the Paul D. Coverdell Legislative Office Building in Atlanta on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, to consider legislation sponsored by Burns to push back the deadline to stop counting votes with QR codes. ATLANTA — It seemed like the stars had aligned for Republicans to get rid of their biggest targets — Georgia’s touch screen voting machines. But the complicated reality of changing voting systems has gotten in the way, despite the ascent of 2020 election deniers into influential places in state government and the second Donald Trump administration. Instead, it is looking increasingly likely that Georgia voters will still be casting ballots this November on the machines from, which was bought by a company called Liberty Vote. The machines print a paper ballot with a QR code, a type of barcode, that scanners use to tally votes. The president and his allies continue to allege the machines deleted or switched votes in 2020, despite no supporting evidence and big money paid to Dominionthat purported to mostly ban the use of a barcodes in vote-counting and demand that voters be able to read their recorded selections. A federal judge blocked the provision in a lawsuit brought by the state of Washington.two years ago setting a deadline of July 1 this year to remove barcodes from ballots. Some people fundamentally mistrust ballots counted using a code that humans can’t read. But lawmakers and administrators failed to agree on any action to meet the mandates of that law — and, crucially, no funding was ever provided. The promised death of the QR codes was very popular among the cadre of conservative activists who have been agitating for changes in voting since Trump’s 2020 loss in Georgia. Those allies now control“HAND. MARKED. PAPER. BALLOTS. I will not be moved. I shall not be moved. Got it?” State Election Board member Salleigh Grubbs wrote on social media on Sunday as word of a proposed delay in the July 1 deadline leaked out. Opponents of the machines note the computer code has been published online, including after Trump supporters obtained it from the elections office inAlthough the machines aren’t connected to the internet, an examination found software vulnerabilities that could be exploited if someone gained physical access. Dominion issued patches to fix the software problem, but Republican legislators didn’t allot any money for GOP Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to update the software.Some proposals to meet the deadline to remove the QR codes called for drastic changes to voting or vote-counting in Georgia. One would have required hand-counting every ballot cast in person before Election Day. That is the most popular way to vote in Georgia. Another proposal would have assigned voters to one early voting location, rather than allowing them to vote at any early voting site in their county. Such a shift to designated locations from countywide voting led to confusion Underlying those false starts is a growing consensus that hand-marked paper ballots counted by scanners is the path forward. Lawmakers said during a Tuesday committee hearing they hope to buy printers that produce ballots as needed instead of paying to preprint millions of ballots. But that comes with an acknowledgment that it is too late to make a big switch in time for November. Republican Rep. Victor Anderson of Cornelia, who chairs the House Governmental Affairs Committee, said switching away from barcodes this year threatened “a severe upset in our election system.”Instead, his committee advanced a bill that would require the state to pick a new voting system not by July 1, but by 2028. Lawmakers also pledged to allot money to buy new equipment for Georgia’s 159 counties.It is not a done deal yet. The full House and the more conservative Senate still need to vote for the measure and the Senate, in particular, could balk., who has been endorsed by Trump in his 2026 bid for governor, didn’t respond to a request for comment. But one Republican state senator who has been a leading proponent of switching to hand-marked paper ballots also now acknowledges that November just isn’t feasible anymore. “I’m disappointed in the timeline, but at this point, we have the choice of making an informed legislative decision or unfortunately dealing with a legal option which is not realistic,” state Sen. Max Burns of Sylvania told The Associated Press after the hearing. One part of the bill that is attractive to conservative activists but disliked by Democrats passes authority over some postelection audits from the secretary of state to the State Election Board. David Worley, a Democrat who formerly served on the board, called the group “hyperpartisan” and warned it had no ability or staff to conduct an audit.“This is something that is setting us up for success and not failure,” Deidre Holden, election director in the Atlanta suburb of Paulding County, said of the delay. “The timeline was my biggest concern.”Amy covers Georgia politics and state government for The Associated Press. He began work with the AP in 2011 and covered Mississippi for eight years before transferring to the Atlanta bureau in 2019.
Georgia Voting 2026 Elections General News GA State Wire Victor Anderson Elections U.S. Republican Party Government And Politics Brad Raffensperger Conservatism U.S. News David Worley Deidre Holden Max Burns U.S. Democratic Party Politics U.S. News
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Gov. Hochul criticizes President Trump and congressional Republicans as New York gas risesGov. Hochul is criticizing President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans as gas prices climb sharply following the outbreak of war in Iran.
Read more »
Trump faces new pressure on mass deportations as Republicans weigh Homeland Security nomineeHouse Speaker Mike Johnson says the operations have created a “hiccup” for the party. But all indications are that Trump’s mass deportation operation is not stalling out, but intensifying.
Read more »
Donald Trump Says Ex-US President Told Him He Wished He Had Bombed IranTrump says a former president wished he’d acted on Iran, but declines to name who — hinting, “I think you know.”
Read more »
Donald Trump Surprises Mike Johnson After Revealing Neal Dunn's Terminal DiagnosisDuring public remarks, Trump says U.S. Representative Neal Dunn received a terminal diagnosis earlier this year.
Read more »
The Three Players Who Will Decide Georgia’s March Madness Tournament RunThree players for the Georgia Bulldogs who will decide Georgia's march madness tournament run.
Read more »
Georgia QB Gunner Stockton Explains His Decision to Meet With President Donald TrumpGeorgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton explains why he chose to meet with President Donald Trump earlier this offseason.
Read more »