ATLANTA (Georgia Recorder) — Lawmakers had high hopes for this session’s election policy, introducing bills on everything from campaign finance to an overhaul of Georgia’s voting system.
At least five of those bills were on the Crossover Day agenda — a key deadline for bills to advance through the Legislature — across the two chambers. But by the end of the night, only one had managed to clear the mid-session hurdle.
Election bills from last year that have already passed one chamber, such as a bill that would restrict the use of AI-generated campaign videos within 90 days of an election, could still gain final passage before the end of this year’s session. But bills that were introduced in 2026 must pass at least one chamber before the Crossover Day deadline in order to become law during this biennium.
Here’s a look at the bills that were up for debate, and how they fared.
Campaign finance restrictions
Senate Bill 423, sponsored by Carrollton Republican Sen. Timothy Bearden, would require all in-state political candidates, campaign committees, political action committees and leadership committees to raise at least half of their campaign contributions from Georgia residents.
Candidates and committees that receive more than half of their campaign contributions from out of state donors would be required to refund the donations within 45 days, or risk being charged with a felony.
“This bill offers a common sense, balanced approach to protect Georgia elections from undue, outside interference,” Bearden said.
The bill passed the Senate in a 33-21 vote.
Election equipment overhaul
When it was first introduced last week, Senate Bill 568 seemed as though it might be the most sweeping election overhaul introduced during the 2026 session.
But the measure, introduced by Cumming Republican Sen. Greg Dolezal, failed on the floor of the Senate Friday, falling two votes short of the 29 “yes” votes needed to secure a majority in the chamber.
Changes to Georgia’s voting system are needed ahead of the November general election, Dolezal said, because a requirement to remove QR codes from being used to tabulate ballots is set to take effect in July but the Legislature has not yet set aside the necessary funding to make that change.
“We’re on a collision course with our November election in a law that we passed here two years ago, Senate Bill 189, that requires the removal of the QR codes from the ballots,” Dolezal said. “This puts compliance with that law into the code so that we are instructive as to how we comply with that law.”
Among other changes, the bill would make hand-marked paper ballots the primary voting method instead of Georgia’s current ballot-marking devices, end countywide early voting and fine counties up to $10,000 for each improperly registered voter on their rolls.
But Democrats, including Sen. Kim Jackson of Stone Mountain, argued that the bill would be too difficult to implement before this year’s general election. She said the new equipment would likely be too expensive for counties, the early voting changes would lead to mass voter confusion and that mandating a list of voters who cast ballots to be publicly posted on the secretary of state’s website could endanger victims of stalking and domestic violence.
“This bill is too hasty,” Jackson said. “It does not protect Georgians, and fundamentally, it destabilizes our electoral system.”
Some Republicans also expressed hesitation about the measure. Sen. Ed Setzler, an Acworth Republican, said he appreciated the bill but worried about the ability to adopt the changes in time for this year’s general election.
“I would be much more comfortable with this if this were July 1 of 2027,” Setzler said.
“I’m not trying to undermine what you’re doing,” he continued, but added, “do we really have the ability in 159 counties to deliver this with excellence?”
Dolezal said he planned to keep fighting for the bill and was open to compromise.
“I’m not married to every provision in the bill,” he said, adding that he may be able to include sections of the legislation in Senate Bill 214, an election bill that passed out of the chamber during the 2025 session, and is currently waiting for a vote in a House committee.
“That may be the ultimate path we take,” Dolezal said.
Proof of citizenship to vote
An attempt to require voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship before casting a ballot also fell short of the votes needed to clear the Senate Friday.
Senate Resolution 838, another proposal sponsored by Dolezal, sought to establish a state version of the federal SAVE Act.
“This really is the same idea, but done at a state level,” Dolezal said. “And I would actually personally love to see all 50 states follow suit.”
It is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. Some local governments allow noncitizen residents to vote in local elections, though the practice is not allowed in Georgia. Voters would also need to approve the constitutional amendment before it could be implemented.
Sen. Randal Mangham, a Stone Mountain Democrat, opposed the legislation, saying it “creates political justification for reviving election rules by claiming a crisis in the system,” he said.
He also argued that it would pose an unnecessary burden to Georgia residents seeking to register to vote.
“It would impact all of us, but would especially burden military voters, tribal voters, rural voters, survivors of natural disasters, who have lost documentation, communities of color and millions of married women in Georgia who have changed their name,” he added.
The measure would require a constitutional amendment, and therefore needed a two thirds majority to clear the chamber. It ultimately failed, receiving a 32-23 vote along party lines.
Statewide grand juries
A second resolution that sought to establish a new process for prosecuting election- and voting-related crimes also fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to propose an amendment to the state Constitution.
Senate Resolution 875, introduced by Athens Republican Sen. Bill Cowsert, would also mandate that the attorney general prosecute all voting-related cases rather than local district attorneys. Cowsert argued that a statewide system was needed to restore Georgians’ confidence in the outcome of such cases.
“We have just been through six years of bickering over the 2020 election,” Cowsert said. “And no side is going to be happy as long as they think the motivation for prosecutions of election fraud, violation of election laws, campaign finance laws, are politically motivated.”
The measure failed in a 28-21 vote.
