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Several Democratic state representatives filed legislation this week that would make hand marked ballots counted by existing ballot scanners the primary method of election voting in Georgia. State Reps. Sam Park, D-Lawrenceville, Shea Roberts, D-Atlanta, Scott Holcomb, D-Atlanta, and Jasmine Clark, D-Lilburn, Tuesday filed the “Restore Confidence in Elections Act,” which would also require recounts be conducted manually.

“Georgia will be one of the most important swing states in 2024. As public servants, we must take all action necessary to protect our elections and restore voter confidence,” said Rep. Park. “As we first advocated in 2019, hand marked paper ballots are the gold standard for election integrity according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

“Georgia voters on both sides of the aisle understand the importance of this issue and have demanded we take action,” Park added. “The introduction of this bill demonstrates we are listening to all the people we serve. I encourage Georgia voters to continue to advocate for hand marked paper ballots, and I welcome legislators from both sides of the aisle to do the right thing to protect our Democracy and support this bill.”

According to information from the bill sponsors, these changes could align Georgia elections with the principles outlined in the 2024 Guiding Principles of Election Administration, which was recently released by the Carter Center and Baker Institute for Public Policy. They said it could also align Georgia’s use of the Dominion Voting system with the nationally accepted standard configuration.

“Election workers already know how to shift into this election procedure for emergencies, so training cost will be low,” said Rep. Roberts. “Tens of thousands fewer devices will need to be programmed, secured, tested, updated, maintained, warranted and transported to and from polling places. An added benefit is that hand marked ballots counted by scanners will save millions statewide.

“The significant cost savings will free up money to address poll worker shortages – real security for a fraction of the cost. The Restore Confidence in Elections Act will end the election controversies and conspiracies and give voters verifiable election outcomes that reflect the will of the voters, no matter the result,” Roberts added.

Other key provisions of the bill:

● Would make the voters’ oval mark adjacent to ballot text the official vote counted.

● Would allow for pre-election testing of equipment (logic and accuracy testing) and public testing oversight.

● Would criminalize copying or distribution of voting software, without the Secretary of State’s authorization, with felony level offense.