Georgia lawmakers advanced a variety of election changes Tuesday that would allow officials to reduce the number of voting machines, add watermarks to ballots and put pictures of all ballots online for public review.
The bills are part of a Republican package of changes to how the state would conduct elections ahead of this year’s presidential race. These measures and others still need to pass final votes on the last day of this year’s legislative session Thursday.
State Sen. Max Burns said county election directors asked for flexibility to deploy fewer voting machines on election day to account for the high number of Georgians who cast early or absentee ballots.
In this month’s presidential primary, over half of voters participated before election day, and voters haven’t had to wait in lines on election day in recent years.
Currently, one voting booth is required on election day for every 250 voters.
“This came from the election officials of Democratic counties and of Republican counties, and they asked to have this latitude,” said Burns, a Republican from Sylvania. “My anticipation is they’re going to be generous. The last thing we want is long lines at polls on election day.”
House Bill 1207 passed along party lines, 33-20, with all Democrats opposed.
“What if everybody decided to vote the next cycle and you’re not prepared and you’re going to have long wait lines?” said state Sen. Derek Mallow, a Democrat from Savannah. “You should be prepared if all those folks showed up.”
The legislation also would require election workers to be U.S. citizens, allow candidates to check ballots for accuracy before they’re printed and guarantee access to poll watchers.
The Senate also passed House Bill 974, which would put a watermark on all ballots, require audits of at least two statewide races each election and post ballot images online. That bill passed 47-6.
Both bills could receive final approval Thursday if the state House agrees.
Several other election bills are also pending but didn’t receive votes Tuesday. Those measures would clarify rules for activists to challenge voters’ eligibility, criminalize deepfake campaign ads and eliminate the use of computer QR codes from ballots to count votes.
All of these bills are still alive until the General Assembly adjourns late Thursday.
This article has been updated with the correct bill number, House Bill 1207.
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