ATLANTA — The Georgia General Assembly ended its annual session on April 3, 2026, without approving a plan for new equipment or reprogramming to overhaul the state's voting system ahead of a July 1 statutory deadline. The adjournment left unresolved a conflict between two state laws — one requiring counties to use Dominion Voting machines and another, enacted in 2024, banning the use of barcodes to count votes.

Georgia counties currently use Dominion Voting machines that print ballots with a QR code, which scanners read to tally votes. The 2024 law banning barcode-based vote counting set a July 1 compliance deadline, but no money has been allocated to reprogram the machines to meet that requirement.

"We'll have an unresolvable statutory conflict come July 1," said Victor Anderson, House Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman. Anderson backed a proposal to keep using Dominion Voting machines in 2026, but Senate Republicans declined to consider it. "This is a legislative problem," Anderson said. "It's a legislative solution that has to happen."

The House and Senate clashed over competing approaches during the session. House Republicans and Democrats backed a plan requiring Georgia to choose a voting process that did not use QR codes by 2028. The Senate proposed an immediate switch to hand-marked paper ballots. The Georgia House declined to adopt the Senate proposal, and neither chamber moved to accept the other's plan before adjournment.

House Speaker Jon Burns said the House had been seeking to minimize changes to the voting system this year. "You can't change horses in the middle of the stream," Burns said. He added that he would meet with Governor Brian Kemp to gauge his interest in calling a special legislative session to address the impasse.

A spokesperson for Kemp said Friday that the governor would examine the situation and analyze all bills, as well as the consequences of those that did not pass. "They've abdicated their responsibility," said Democratic state Representative Saira Draper, referring to lawmakers leaving the conflict unresolved.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican who is running for governor, has said through a spokesperson that his office is prepared to follow the law and the Constitution. County election officials now face uncertainty as the July 1 deadline approaches without a legislative resolution.