Senate approves House-amended Georgia election bill, ending special legislative session

The Georgia Senate has voted to approve the House-amended version of a bill that could eventually change how voters in the Peach State cast their ballots.

On Tuesday morning, the House voted 94-79 to pass Senate Bill 3EX. Because the House's version was amended, the bill went back to the Senate. After a short push for an additional amendment failed, the Senate approved the changes 36 to 16.

With the vote done, the Senate adjourned, ending the special session called by Gov. Brian Kemp in part to address a July 1 deadline that was set to ban the QR codes used for the official vote count.

The bill would create a committee to recommend requirements for a new voting system. The committee would have until Jan. 31, 2027, to report its findings. State lawmakers would be responsible for funding, buying, and implementing the new system for the 2028 election cycle.

The measure would also limit the Secretary of State's role in selecting a new uniform voting system and expand the definition of "selected contests" subject to mandatory risk-limiting audits.

The Senate previously passed the bill on a party-line vote, adding an amendment that would require a full hand recount of the two races at the top of the ballot. In November, that would be the governor and U.S. Senate races. The Georgia House version adjusted what races could be audited, removing some federal races. The House also limited the audits to only if the votes between the candidates are within a certain margin.

Georgia Democrats and some activists have argued that hand recounts could sow doubts about their results, saying that they can be likely to cause delays in the process and are costly.

If Gov. Brian Kemp signs the bill, it would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2028.

The Associated Press and previous CBS News reporting contributed to this report.