Barrett Calls on Lawmakers to Delay QR Code Deadline and Warns Against Adopting Discriminatory Election Practices and Rigged Maps
Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett is condemning the latest elections-related actions by Governor Brian Kemp as politically motivated and aimed at silencing Black and Brown voters. Referring to Kemp’s signing of House Bill 369, and the call for a special session to redraw political maps and address the looming QR code deadline, Barrett said, “In one week, Governor Kemp has targeted Democratic elected leaders in metro Atlanta counties and given the go ahead for racial gerrymandering in our state.”
“If holding non-partisan elections for county officials, as set forth in HB 369, was good policy, it would apply to all 159 counties in Georgia,” Barrett continued. “Instead, it applies to five, all of them heavily Democratic, all of them in metro Atlanta, and all of them with a significant number of Black women in leadership. That tells you everything you need to know about this law.”
While Barrett supports the call for a special session to address the July 1, 2026 deadline to remove QR codes from Georgia ballots, she warns that any solution other than postponing the deadline is not viable.
“Republican leaders passed a law banning QR codes on ballots two years ago but never specified or funded a replacement,” Barrett said. “That is completely irresponsible. Now, county election officials across Georgia in both red and blue counties are saying it’s too late to make a change this year without causing chaos. We simply do not have the budgets or the time to make this kind of change in time for the November elections. I am calling on lawmakers to delay the deadline until after the November midterms.”
“Stripping party labels from Democratic counties, gerrymandering maps, leaving election infrastructure in chaos—these are not separate decisions,” Barrett said. “They are part of a larger, concerted effort to sabotage elections and silence voters in swing states across the country.”
“In 2020, Governor Kemp defended the will of Georgia’s voters despite intense pressure from Trump and his allies. It’s disappointing to see him pandering to them at our expense now.”
Senator Ossoff released the following statement:
“The special session to redraw Georgia’s legislative districts is a blatant scheme to undermine Black representation in Congress and the state legislature by exploiting the Supreme Court’s gutting of the Voting Rights Act.
“Let me be clear: our answer will be overwhelming. MAGA Republicans are awakening a giant. Their disgraceful campaign against the Voting Rights Act will mobilize unprecedented voter turnout, heightening the wave already building against the Trump Administration’s disastrous economic failures.”
