Georgia voters have a right to know their vote was counted the way they cast it. Right now, when you vote on Georgia's machines, the paper ballot prints both your choices in plain text and a QR code — but it's the QR code that actually gets tallied, not the words you can read. That means there's no way for a voter to verify their own ballot with their own eyes. You have to trust that the QR code says what the printed words say. Most of us can't read a QR code. That's not a small technical detail — that's a gap in accountability that affects every single race on every ballot in this state.
The legislature just passed a bill on June 23rd extending this system through at least 2028, which means it will be in place for this fall's elections. Before it becomes law, Governor Kemp has the chance to send it back. Plenty of election security experts — people who are not partisan, not activists, just technologists — have raised concerns about QR-code ballot systems for years. Several other states have moved away from them. Georgia doesn't have to lock itself into this for another two years while voters quietly wonder whether their ballot was counted correctly. Restoring confidence in our elections costs nothing compared to the damage done when people stop believing their votes matter.
I'm asking you to publicly call on Governor Kemp to veto this bill and to bring Georgia back to a ballot system where every voter can look at their paper and confirm exactly what was recorded.
Please urge Governor Kemp to veto the QR code ballot extension so every Georgian can verify their own vote with their own eyes.
