ATLANTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - The touchscreen machines Georgians have used to vote for years could soon be gone, as state lawmakers vet new equipment to overhaul the state’s voting system ahead of 2028.

With a deadline approaching to overhaul how Georgians vote, lawmakers packed into a room at the state Capitol Thursday to test new machines firsthand.

Georgia spent $108 million on touchscreen machines in 2019. Now, Senate Bill 3EX pushes for hand-marked paper ballots printed at check-in.

Three vendors made their pitch to lawmakers. Hart InterCivic brought air-gapped printers. Runbeck showed heavy-duty printers built to prevent heat jams. ES&S pitched high-speed tabulators.

Paulding County Elections Supervisor Deidre Holden pressed vendors on whether Georgia’s 159 counties can handle paper loads, pricey ink and dying batteries.

“Because elections are not pretty. There’s things that can go wrong. There’s times we’re having meltdowns. We need that vendor that’s going to be there and say, hey, we’ve got a fix for this,” Holden said.

The Eternal Vigilance Institute estimates new printers alone could cost taxpayers $85 million, though committee co-chairs would not give a specific figure.

“I can’t put a price tag on a secure voting system in Georgia. We can put a cost on it. We can’t put a value on it,” said state Sen. Max Burns, committee co-chair.

Still, frontline election workers worry voter trust won’t come easily.

“They’re the ones that’s going to be touching this, using this, trying to explain to the voters what’s going on. And it’s a change. And our voters, you know, people don’t like change,” Holden said.

Lawmakers will hear from four more vendors later this month before sending their final recommendations to the General Assembly by Jan. 31. The Legislature only sets the standards and approves the budget — the ultimate contract award falls to Georgia’s next secretary of state.

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