The State Purchased Voting Machines, But the Counties Pay To Keep Them Functional
In theory, the state of Georgia pays for the voting equipment used throughout the state. In practice, it’s more complicated than that. The system that the state purchased in 2019 requires ongoing expenditures just to remain operational. Those ongoing expenses are, by and large, borne by Georgia counties.
Georgia’s voting machine system is accurate and secure, but it is woefully under-resourced. If that under-resourcing leads to malfunctions, it can unnecessarily undermine voters’ confidence in the integrity of the election.
The research was conducted in equal partnership with the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda.
Georgia Does Not Fund the Ongoing Costs Required To Operate the State-Mandated Poll Pads
There are multiple pieces of equipment used during in-person voting in Georgia. First, there are the poll pads. These are used by poll workers at check-in tables when a voter first arrives at their polling place. They are used to verify a voter’s identity, record that a voter has voted (but not who they will be voting for), and program the card that tells the ballot marking device which ballot to generate for the voter. The poll pads need reliable cellular service to operate; they are sometimes referred to as “cellular poll pads.”
The cellular poll pads are great. But […] we have three AIP [absentee in person] locations where we cannot get a cellular connection there at all. So, we’ve had to install for [about] $5,000 per location, we’ve had to install these special Meraki routers into these locations to be able to put them onto the county’s network, so that we can still run them and sync and get all that data back and get the information. But the state didn’t put any effort into [testing the locations] before deployment.”
— Zach Manifold, Gwinnett County Voter Registrations and Elections Supervisor
Gwinnett County is hardly the only county in Georgia running polling places in locations without reliable cell coverage. Operating the state-mandated poll pads requires ongoing additional expenses, such as the purchase of cellular boosters, but the state has not accounted for or allocated funds to support the counties with these costs. In contrast, Alabama reimburses its counties for expenditures toward “essential support equipment for electronic poll pads.”
Georgia’s State-Mandated Ballot Marking Devices Require Expensive Supplementary Purchases, Which the State Does Not Pay For
After a voter checks in, they proceed to make their voting selection on a ballot marking device, referred to as a BMD. The BMD then prints out a receipt. The voter takes the receipt to the scanner, which then tabulates their vote. The BMD and its printer contain several component parts, some of which must be constantly replaced. Those parts of the machinery are “consumables.”
It has been a consumable cost to the counties, because we have to buy things like toner, thermal tapes, [and] cleaning sheets. I mean, there’s so many little consumables that have to go there with that. It is an expense. Still cheaper than hand-marked ballots. But it’s still an expense to us.”
— Jennifer Logan, Jackson County Elections Director
The specialty supplies required to maintain a BMD, including its printer, are expensive. For example, in 2020, Habersham County estimated that printer cartridges for their BMDs would cost them $130 per cartridge. Given inflation, it is reasonable to assume those costs have only risen. The state has mandated that the counties use BMDs, but it does not provide funding for the consumables costs the machines necessitate.
The BMDs also require battery backups in case of a power surge or other emergency failure. The counties need more and higher-quality battery backups.
We’ve had instances in the state where batteries have ruptured. I think one actually got tossed out of a courthouse window because of the smoking. The newer ones don’t necessarily have enough power to keep things running when we need to. I’ve got some of the smaller ones where an alarm goes off when you print.”
— Joseph Kirk, Bartow County Election Supervisor
However, the counties cannot get these without funding.
They [the secretary of state] didn’t get the funding in the General Assembly like they wanted to replace our battery backups.”
— Jennifer Logan, Jackson County Elections Director
For now, the counties are making do. But in an emergency situation, it’s easy to imagine how a lack of funding for sufficient battery backups could lead to a shortage of functioning machines, which might result in an election marred by long lines and disenfranchisement.
In Mississippi, counties receive money for voting equipment components like these through the state’s Elections Support Fund, but Georgia provides no such support to its counties.
Georgia’s Counties Need Tech Support for the Ballot Marking Devices
Even in nonemergency situations, the BMDs will occasionally require troubleshooting and maintenance. However, after the initial 2019 contract with Dominion (now called Liberty Vote) expired, the state no longer provides tech support to maintain BMDs around the state. In a small county, this can mean that the only person who is both legally allowed to access the machines and who knows how to troubleshoot the machinery is the county elections supervisor.
I do it all, I do everything. We don’t have IT, we don’t have any of that. It would be great to have somebody knowledgeable. […] If I catch the flu or I hit a deer on Election Day, y’all are in trouble. […] It would be nice to have extra funds for something like that.”
— Kerry Curry, Emanuel County Elections Director
Georgia’s elections need an injection of resources from the state.
Georgia’s Voting System Needs Resources, Not an Expensive and Unreliable Transition to Hand-Marked Paper Ballots
Transitioning to a hand-marked paper ballot system is not the answer to the problem of equipment-related resource needs. Field tests have shown that hand-marked systems are less accurate than the machine-based system Georgia currently uses. What Georgia’s elections need is not a system downgrade, but rather, tangible support maintaining the secure technology already in use.
If SB 189’s QR Code Ban Is Implemented, It Will Significantly Worsen the Situation
Thus far, we have examined the voting equipment-related costs borne by Georgia counties under the current system. However, there is a looming system change on the horizon that counties fear may create a greater financial crisis. This is the implementation of the QR code ban section within 2024’s SB 189, which was passed in order to appease a vocal minority of misinformed activists. As things stand, the QR code ban must be implemented by July 2026, unless the Legislature takes immediate action.
Reports estimate implementation will cost $300 million to start. The Legislature has allocated no funding for this mandate.
The July 1st, 2026, deadline is looming. And you know, we’re all scared to death. Because right now, there is no system in place for us to use. Hand-marked paper ballots does not solve what they did in that legislation.”
— Jennifer Logan, Jackson County Elections Director
Recommendations
The state of Georgia should:
- Delay implementing the QR-code ban from SB 189 (now housed in O.C.G.A. 21-2-379.23) until 2029, when the state’s 10-year voting equipment contract will be up for renewal. At that point, the QR-code ban should either be repealed, or fully funded within the new equipment purchase.
- Create a reimbursement program through the secretary of state’s office where county administrators can apply annually to reimburse expenses incurred to keep poll pads, ballot marking devices and other equipment operational. The state should fully staff and fund this program through a recurring annual appropriation.
- Hire BMD technicians and fully fund their positions to provide statewide technical support to counties.
- Purchase additional and sufficient BMD battery backups and distribute them to each county.