Georgia’s New Election-Equipment Law Leaves 2026 Voting System in Place
Georgia’s SB 3EX keeps the current electronic ballot-marker and scanner framework as the operative system for the November 3, 2026, election while creating a committee to recommend a possible hand-marked paper-ballot system for the 2028 election cycle.
Georgia’s new election law leaves the state’s current electronic ballot-marker and ballot-scanner framework as the operative system for the November 3, 2026, general election. It postpones decisions about any statewide replacement system and creates a committee to recommend technical requirements for a system that could be used beginning in the 2028 election cycle.
Gov. Brian Kemp approved Senate Bill 3EX on June 25, 2026, and the law took effect that day. The measure replaces an earlier deadline-driven transition with a standards and planning process. Funding, procurement, vendor selection and implementation remain unresolved.
What voters should expect in 2026
Under Georgia’s current election rules, voters use electronic ballot markers that print paper ballots, while ballot scanners tabulate those ballots. The rules apply statewide and assign county election superintendents responsibility for operating, testing, securing and maintaining voting-system components.
SB 3EX does not replace the equipment now used by counties. It does not name a vendor, authorize a purchase, set a procurement schedule or provide a funding package for a new system. Unless a later law or court order changes the framework, voters should expect the existing electronic ballot-marker and scanner process for the November 3, 2026, election.
Committee will recommend a possible 2028 system
The law creates a nine-member Election Equipment Specifications and Standards Committee. Three members will be appointed by the governor, three will be state senators appointed by the Senate Committee on Assignments, and three will be state representatives appointed by the House speaker. One senator and one representative will serve as legislative co-chairpersons.
The committee must recommend specifications, standards and requirements for a uniform system based on hand-marked paper ballots produced through ballot-on-demand printing. Its report is due January 31, 2027, and must contain enough detail for legislative and executive policymakers to develop possible appropriations, procurement and implementation plans for the 2028 election cycle.
That deadline is the next major checkpoint for voters, county election offices and policymakers. The report will be a recommendation and planning document, not a final appropriation, contract, certification or guarantee that new equipment will be in use in 2028.
Procurement authority is narrowed for the current secretary of state
SB 3EX bars the Secretary of State who was in office on June 25, 2026, from selecting, certifying or procuring the future uniform system, including preparing requests for proposals, requests for qualifications or other vendor solicitations. The law declares related actions by that secretary void and beyond the office’s authority.
The restriction is specific to the secretary in office when the law took effect. It is not a permanent ban on all future secretaries of state participating in election-equipment decisions. By majority vote, the committee may request input and comment from the Secretary of State’s elections director or any other employee of the office.
Close statewide races may receive an automatic recount
The law also changes recount procedures for defined statewide general-election contests: governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state school superintendent, and the commissioners of insurance, agriculture and labor.
If one of those contests appears first or second on the ballot and the certified difference between the winning candidate and another candidate is no more than 0.5 percentage points of all votes cast in that contest, the Secretary of State must direct a manual recount in every county no later than two business days after the election-certification date.
The state must reimburse counties for reasonable costs of a recount conducted under this provision, but a county qualifies for reimbursement only if its superintendent completes the recount within 17 days after the Secretary of State orders it. The law does not make every recount automatically eligible for state payment.
Audit rules also change
SB 3EX revises the contests subject to Georgia’s risk-limiting audit provisions. The selected contests include the contest at the top of the ballot and, when present, specified presidential, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, gubernatorial and other statewide races, subject to the statute’s selection rules.
The law also delays a related provision from SB 189 until January 1, 2028. That delay is separate from the November 2026 equipment question: the current voting system remains the operative framework for that election unless a later law or court order changes it.
What happens next
County election officials will prepare for the 2026 election under Georgia’s existing equipment rules. The new committee’s work will establish the technical requirements policymakers can use when considering a future system.
For voters, the practical sequence is continuity in November, followed by the committee’s standards report on January 31, 2027. Whether Georgia ultimately purchases new equipment, how much it would cost, who would procure it and when implementation would occur remain unresolved by SB 3EX itself.
Sources
- Georgia SB 3EX enrolled and signed legislation
- Georgia Secretary of State election-conduct rules
- Georgia Public Broadcasting: Special session ends as lawmakers postpone mandated changes to Georgia's election system
- CBS Atlanta: Georgia Senate approves election overhaul bill creating voting equipment committee, expanding audits
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