A Conspiracy Theory About QR Codes Has Led to Chaos Ahead of Georgia’s Midterms
When WIRED asked Favorito if, despite all the audits and investigations that found no evidence of fraud, he still thinks the 2020 election was rigged using QR codes, Favorito responded, “I think it’s a real possibility.” »
The Georgia bill does not specify which system should replace QR codes, but it sets July 1, 2026 as the deadline to end the use of the codes. The effort to demonize QR codes received additional momentum when in March 2025, Trump signed an executive order requiring the Election Assistance Commission to approve new rules prohibiting vote counting via QR codes in most cases nationwide. The commission did not respond to a request for comment.
Since then, Georgia lawmakers have repeatedly failed to put in place a system to replace QR codes or update election systems. So with just six months until the midterm elections, county elections directors across the state find themselves in limbo, not knowing how to proceed or whether new rules will be put in place.
When asked how ballots would be counted in the midterms, Cherokee County Elections Director Anne Dover told WIRED, “Unfortunately, we don’t have an answer to that question.”
Some believe Gov. Brian Kemp will recall the Legislature for a special session specifically designed to address the issue. Kemp declined to comment, and spokesperson Carter Chapman referred WIRED to a statement he made in early April after the Legislature ended without a new system in place, in which the office said it was working on it.
Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state, also declined to comment on how this situation would be corrected, but spokesman Michon Lindstrom said the office has “full confidence in our election officials in their ability to conduct a successful election.”
Last month, Raffensperger’s office proposed a temporary solution that would use QR codes to count votes on election night to provide instant results, but optical character recognition technology would then be used on ballots for legal counting — although experts have said that method could be illegal.
Georgia law allows the use of hand-marked paper ballots in emergencies, such as power outages, but this system was not designed for use by the entire voting population.
For Favorito, however, the solution is simple: remove voting machines altogether. “Hand counts are recorded publicly so you can be assured there is no cheating,” he says.
He also rejected evidence showing that automatic counting is not only faster, but also more accurate and less expensive. When asked who would be responsible for counting millions of ballots, Favorito suggested that “volunteers and students” could be used.
While Favorito says a manual counting system like this can be implemented in time for the 2026 midterm elections, those on the front lines administering the elections say it is simply unfeasible.
“Hand counting is a serious task,” says Paulding County Elections Director Deidre Holden. “We need individuals who are committed and who understand that what they are handling is someone’s voice. Not just a piece of paper that needs to be counted. It would be difficult to find these student volunteers. We already have difficulty finding committed poll workers, and they are paid.”
Another problem is the large number of separate ballots that would have to be printed and properly distributed to voters on Election Day. And for Georgia’s already under-resourced election officials trying to prepare for a campaign, the lack of clarity is deeply frustrating.
“We’re at the mercy of legislators,” says Dover, Cherokee County’s elections director. “This is not our problem to solve. Lawmakers created this problem.”
