Senate Ethics Committee advances bill moving Georgia toward hand‑marked paper ballots after amendments

The Senate Ethics Committee voted 8‑4 to advance HB 960 (LC 474277S) on Thursday after adopting amendments that cut civil fines tied to voter‑roll challenges and clarified recount provisions, moving the state closer to a system of hand‑marked paper ballots tabulated by machine.

Sen. Dolezal, the bill sponsor, told the committee the substitute (Senate Bill 568) includes three changes: "reduced fines" from $10,000 to $1,000 per incident in the version he presented, elimination of an assigned advanced early‑voting location proposal, and relocation of recount language into the proper section of the bill. "This moves us to hand‑marked paper ballots that will be machine tabulated, what we've kind of colloquially referred to as the Florida model," he said.

Why it matters: Sponsors said the changes respond to federal cybersecurity findings and aim to reduce reliance on existing voting software. Dolezal cited a CISA assessment and said the state currently runs Dominion software 5.5A with known vulnerabilities, framing the bill as a security measure. Opponents and some election officials warned the scale and timing of the switch raise logistical, fiscal and privacy risks ahead of the November election.

Committee debate focused on three practical issues. First, recount procedures: Sen. Jackson asked whether the bill requires a full hand recount in large contests "within two days," and the sponsor replied the language intends to "initiate" recount activity within two business days and that completion will likely take longer; he said language could be revised to read "prior to certification." Second, penalties: members voiced concern that per‑incident fines, even lowered, could cumulatively burden counties if mistakes occur in large batches—Dolezal said the intent is compliance, not punitive collections, and noted adjudication processes would apply. Third, voter privacy: senators pressed whether publishing an enumerated list of electors or ballot images would endanger voters in protective programs; Dolezal responded those files are public records already and the bill makes them more readily available by date, while agreeing to seek clarifications to protect confidential electors.

Committee members also raised detailed operational questions. Dolezal said large counties face many ballot permutations (he cited roughly 100–110 for Fulton County and a figure of 432 permutations for DeKalb County mentioned later), creating a heavy printing and storage burden if ballots are preprinted; he discussed serialization and batch identifiers included in the bill as safeguards against illegitimate ballots, and said the state has appropriated $15 million toward implementation though overall costs remain unresolved.

Amendments the committee adopted included striking the word "conduct" and replacing it with "initiate a manual recount," and reducing the proposed fine level to $100 (committee votes were unanimous on those changes). The committee rejected an amendment to restore the bill to its original House language (AM470197) and a separate amendment to restore explicit Secretary of State authority to administer the provisions; both failed on roll calls reported by the chair.

The committee chair recorded the final voice tally as eight in favor and four opposed, advancing the bill as amended for further legislative consideration. Several senators said the measure is intended to begin negotiations with other chambers and agencies, and cautioned that more technical and privacy work will be needed as the text moves forward.

The committee adjourned after brief remarks and thanks to staff.