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 believed the 2020 election was rigged using QR codes, Favorito responded: “I think it’s a distinct possibility.”

Georgia’s bill did not outline what system should replace the QR codes, but it set a July 1, 2026 deadline to end the use of the codes. The effort to demonize QR codes was given added impetus when in March 2025 Trump signed an executive order demanding that the Election Assistance Commission approve new rules to ban the counting of votes via QR codes in most cases nationwide. The commission did not respond to a request for comment.

Since then, legislators in Georgia have repeatedly failed to put in place a system to replace QR codes or update the election systems. So with just six months to go before the midterms, election directors in counties across the state have been left in limbo, unsure how to proceed or whether new rules will be put in place.

When asked how the ballots will be counted in the midterms, Anne Dover, director of elections in Cherokee County, tells WIRED: “Unfortunately, we do not have an answer to this question.”

Some believe that Governor Brian Kemp will recall the legislature for a special session designed specifically 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, where the office stated that they were working on it.

Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state, also declined to comment on how this situation would be fixed, but spokesperson Michon Lindstrom said the office had “full confidence in our election officials that they will be able to carry out a successful election.”

Last month, Raffensperger’s office proposed a temporary workaround that would use QR codes to count votes on election night in order to provide instant results, but optical-character-recognition scanning technology would then be used on the ballots for the legal count—though experts have said this method could be illegal.

Georgia law does allow for the use of hand-marked paper ballots in case of emergencies, such as power cuts, but it is not a system that was designed for use by the entire voting population.

For Favorito however, the solution is simple: Remove voting machines entirely. “Publicly recorded hand counts so that you can be assured that there is no cheating,” he says.

He also dismissed evidence that shows machine counting is not only faster but more accurate and cheaper. When asked who would carry out the task of counting millions of ballots, Favorito suggested that “volunteers and students” could be used.

While Favorito says that a hand-counted system like this can be put in place in time for the 2026 midterms, those on the frontlines who administer elections say that is simply unworkable.

“Hand counting is serious,” says Deidre Holden, director of elections in Paulding County. “We need individuals that are committed and understand that what they are handling is someone’s voice. Not just a piece of paper that needs to be counted. There would be a struggle to find these student volunteers. We already struggle to find committed poll workers, and they are paid.”

Another issue is the sheer volume of distinct ballots that would have to be printed and correctly handed out to voters on election day. And for the already under-resourced election officials across Georgia who are trying to prepare for an election season, the lack of clarity is deeply frustrating.

“We are at the mercy of the legislators,” says Dover, the director of elections in Cherokee County. “This is not our problem to solve. The legislators created this problem.”