State Representatives Sam Park (D-Lawrenceville), Shea Roberts (D-Atlanta), Scott Holcomb (D-Atlanta) and Jasmine Clark (D-Lilburn) today filed the “Restore Confidence in Elections Act,” legislation that would make hand marked ballots counted by existing ballot scanners the primary method of election voting in Georgia.
“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. 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.”
“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.”
Key provisions of the bill:
- Would make hand marked ballots counted by scanners the primary method of voting in Georgia;
- 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;
- Recounts would be required to be conducted manually;
- Would criminalize copying or distribution of voting software, without the Secretary of State’s authorization, with felony level offense.
“These representatives also highlight that these changes could align Georgia elections with the principles outlined in the 2024 Guiding Principles of Election Administration, recently released by the Carter Center and Baker Institute for Public Policy, as well as align Georgia’s use of the Dominion Voting system with the nationally accepted standard configuration.”
Representative Sam Park currently represents the citizens of District 101, which includes portions of Gwinnett County. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2016 and currently serves as the House Minority Caucus Whip. He also serves on the Higher Education, Industry and Labor, Intragovernmental Coordination and Small Business Development committees.
Representative Shea Roberts represents the citizens of District 52, which includes portions of DeKalb and Fulton counties. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2020 and currently serves as the House Minority Caucus Treasurer. She also serves on the Governmental Affairs, Judiciary Non-Civil and the State Planning & Community Affairs committees.
Representative Scott Holcomb represents the citizens of District 81, which includes portions of DeKalb County. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2010 and currently serves on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and on the Defense & Veterans Affairs, Higher Education, Judiciary, Juvenile Justice, Public Safety and Homeland Security, Rules, Technology and Infrastructure Innovation and Ways & Means committees.
Representative Jasmine Clark represents the citizens of District 108, which includes portions of Gwinnett County. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018 and currently serves on the Banks & Banking, Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight, Higher Education and Interstate Cooperation committees.
legis.ga.gov
