Responsive Gov’s Grade TL;DR

For yet another session, the Georgia State Legislature passed anti-voter restrictions. Instead of tackling real problems within the Georgia election system – such as the fraudulent mass voter challenges that have tied up local election offices for months – the Legislature opted to pass poorly thought-out legislation that does very little to address the real issues Georgia’s electoral system currently faces. Instead of listening to state election officials who tried to raise red flags about costs, legislators opted to pass a bill to remove QR codes and barcodes from ballots in the name of “election security” that will likely end up costing the state tens of millions of dollars to implement. The State Election Board also passed new rules to revise election administration processes right before the general election. Taking into consideration the significant rollbacks seen this year, Georgia received a D+ on this year’s progress report.

Looking Back

Where Georgia Started at the Beginning of 2024

• Automatic Voter Registration: Partial AVR
• Online Voter Registration: DMV ID
• Same-Day Registration: No
• Restoration of Rights: Parole and/or Probation Disenfranchisement
• Vote by Mail: No-Excuse
• Electronic Registration Information Center Member: Yes
• Early Voting Opportunities: Regular Ballot Early Voting
• ID Requirements: Strict Photo ID

Relying on the Cost of Voting Index for Georgia as of 2024, we considered the state a bottom tier state for pre-existing voting policy and compared its 2024 activity against other bottom tier states. Last year, Georgia was considered a middle tier state.

How Our Tier Compares

• COVI (2024): 36th
• EPI Score (2022): 11th
• CLC State Scorecard (2022): 6/10
• MAP Democracy Rating (2024): FAIR

2024: This Past Year

Legislative Action:

Once again the Legislature chose to focus on false claims of election fraud and passed several pieces of legislation that will do very little to increase election security. The new changes are also likely to substantially increase costs for election administration without any additional funds being provided.

• SB 189 attempts to provide some sideboards to voter challenges by defining what constitutes “probable cause” to mount a challenge. However, the minimal changes are unlikely to change much in practice. The bill also contains an extremely costly provision that requires the secretary of state to rid all ballots of QR codes and other barcodes that are used to tabulate ballots.
• HB 974 requires the secretary of state to establish a program to provide images of all scanned paper ballots online. It also requires some questionable election security measures, such as printing all ballots on security paper with watermarks, that can be very expensive and would provide little value in the name of security.
• HB 1207 prohibits election officials from hiring anyone that is not a U.S. citizen to perform election-related duties and greatly expands poll watcher access. However, it also shores up existing criminal provisions to protect election officials and poll watchers from harassment or interference while performing their duties.
• SB 212 restructures election official duties in counties that have probate court judges that serve as election administrators. Counties would be required to shift to a Board of Elections with a designated election supervisor.

Executive Action:

• Despite numerous concerns from election officials and clerks throughout the state, the State Election Board approved a host of reforms aimed at making last-minute changes to various election administration processes. Fortunately, the Georgia Supreme Court paused the new rules from going into effect for the 2024 election.