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Voting-system dispute resurfaces as advocacy group urges SEB to require hand‑marked backup ballots
Summary
Coalition for Good Governance urged the State Election Board to order counties to deploy statutory backup (hand‑marked paper ballots with scanners) immediately, arguing current touchscreen/QR systems violate ballot secrecy and auditability requirements; the board heard the complaint but did not issue an emergency order at the meeting.
The Coalition for Good Governance told the State Election Board on Feb. 18–19 that existing touchscreen ballot-marking devices violate statutory ballot-secrecy and voter-verifiability requirements and asked the board to order counties to deploy the statutory backup system — hand‑marked paper ballots scanned by optical scanners — until a legislative fix is enacted.
Marilyn Marks, executive director of the Coalition for Good Governance, presented a formal complaint naming Hall and Cobb counties and said the statutory conditions for using touchscreen ballot-marking devices are not being met. "The legislature has spoken clearly…you're not waiting for legislative clarification. They’ve been clear," Marks told the board, urging enforcement rather than new rulemaking.
Marks cited court findings and prior SEB hearings that, she said, concluded the Dominion ballot-marking device configuration does not produce a voter‑verifiable paper ballot in a format readable by the voter because vote tabulation relies on the machine-readable QR code. She asked the board either to issue an immediate order directing counties to implement the backup system or, at minimum, to announce their intent and reconvene quickly with detailed implementation steps.
Board members asked questions about precedent, scope, and enforceability; counsel and members discussed the difference between rules and enforcement obligations. The board did not adopt an immediate statewide order at the meeting but accepted the complaint into the record and heard members say they would consider next steps. Several public commenters during the meeting’s public-comment period also urged the board to act before the 2026 election cycle.
What happens next: The SEB will have the complaint in the record for future adjudication. The Coalition indicated it will submit follow-up materials and a proposed order; the board signaled it might reconvene or set hearings to decide whether to order counties to deploy the backup configuration.
