Georgia lawmakers weigh ballot-on-demand tech, security and accessibility at election committee meeting

During its second session at the Georgia Statehouse, the Joint Election Equipment Specifications and Standards Committee heard from senators Max Burns, Rick Williams and Bo Hatchett, as well as representatives Victor Anderson, Tim Fleming and Scott Holcomb. County election directors Rebecca Anglin, Chris Channell and Kelvin Williams outlined a ballot-on-demand approach, the possibility of upgrading current hardware, and the importance of strong cybersecurity, referencing the Halderman Report.

Experts Paul Lux and John Cronin described direct-print and paper-ballot practices from Florida and Virginia. Disability and language advocates—including Lanona Jones, Jessica Mathis, Anar Parikh, AJ Link, Shun Tucker-Allen and Nicolas Bernal—urged the committee to embed multilingual interfaces and curbside voting options. Lawmakers stressed that accessibility must be a core element of any new specifications.