The Georgia General Assembly passed a law in 2024 that would eliminate the use of QR codes in 2026 for counting ballots, which could force election officials to use only hand-marked ones.

“It is evident that the state is at risk of missing this important statutory deadline,” Fleming, R-Covington, and Anderson, R-Cornelia, wrote in the letter published by the Georgia Republican Party on social media. “For that reason, we believe it is imperative to begin testing viable alternatives to the continued use of QR-coded ballots.”

Their request has the backing of the Coalition for Good Governance. The organization is asking state lawmakers to consider a pilot program where hand-marked ballots are primarily used. The Coalition for Good Government identifies itself as a nonpartisan group concerned with constitutional liberties and the individual rights of citizens.

“We believe such a pilot program is a timely, prudent and necessary step to address election security and prepare for the state’s transition away from unverifiable voting technology,” the organization said in a release. “As a nonpartisan organization, our primary concern is the security, verifiability, and transparency of the electoral process, and we see this proposed pilot as a crucial opportunity to gather empirical data that will benefit all stakeholders.”

Fleming is chairing the House Blue Ribbon Committee on Election Procedures, which is holding a series of meetings about the state’s elections. He is also a candidate for secretary of state. Anderson is vice chairman.

John Fervier, chairman of the State Election Board, told the committee on Thursday that out of more than 5 million votes cast in the 2024 presidential election, only 87 had discrepancies and 86 of those were on hand-marked ballots. Hand-counting ballots would cost the state significantly more and cause delays, he said.

“Georgia has fair, free and honest elections and its because of the hard work and dedication of all the election workers in Georgia,” Fervier said. “It’s also because all the laws passed by the General Assembly and implemented by the secretary of state and local officials. They’re fair, reasonable and they make sense.”

But the board has not always agreed with Fervier, nor does the board’s new executive director.

“I’ve never served under a more dishonest, dysfunctional chairman than Chairman John Fervier,” Executive Director James Mills told the committee. “I take no joy in saying any of it. It grieves me.”

Board member Janelle King disagreed with Fervier’s assessment of the elections.

“We clearly have hundreds of cases of election fraud, improprieties, vulnerabilities, the list goes on and on,” King said.

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King has been scrutinized for serving on the board while her husband, Kelvin King, is also a candidate for secretary of state.

The committee’s next meeting is Sept. 18 at Savannah Technical College.