Blackwell: Georgia Voters Deserve Transparent, Verifiable Elections

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell, chair of the Center for Election Integrity at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) and former Ohio Secretary of State, today issued the following statement on Governor Brian Kemp's proclamation reconvening the Georgia General Assembly to address the state's voting system ahead of the November 2026 election:

"The America First standard for election security is simple: make it easy to vote and hard to cheat. The use of QR codes for tabulation does not meet that standard. In fact, it makes it nearly impossible to deliver the transparency necessary to maintain public trust.

The law in Georgia is already signed and clear. The voter's marked text must be the official vote for tabulation, recounts, and audits, not scanners and QR codes. Any attempt to resist this is unacceptable and a slap in the face to Georgians who deserve to know that their ballots are being counted in a way that is fair, reliable, and verifiable. The Secretary of State has had nearly two years to comply with the law, and it is time for voters to get the clarity they deserve.”

These sentiments are reflected in AFPI's new issue brief addressing the implications of QR codes on election security. The brief explains that public confidence in elections depends on systems any voter can read and any citizen can audit. A QR code does neither as it cannot be verified by voters or poll watchers and can’t be meaningfully cross-checked via hand count.

Learn more about AFPI Georgia here.