The Georgia State Election Board (SEB) passed a resolution on September 28, 2026, requesting assistance from the Trump administration concerning the state's voting system. The resolution, adopted by Republican members in a 3-2 vote, directs Executive Director James Mills to seek help from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) while urging Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to consider a software update for Georgia's voting equipment.
The resolution cites unspecified vulnerabilities that reportedly threaten the security of the voting system and ballot secrecy for Georgia voters. It also calls for Raffensperger to provide data on the state's election machines to assist with federal investigations.
Board Chairman John Fervier, appointed by Governor Brian Kemp, opposed the resolution, expressing concerns about federal involvement in state elections. He stated, "I have a fundamental issue with the federal government becoming involved in Georgia elections. I just fundamentally disagree with it."
Democratic board member Sara Tindall Ghazal criticized the resolution, stating, "No matter who is in office, I do not support federal intervention in state-run elections. I think this is federal overreach." In response to Vice Chair Janelle King's support for the resolution, Ghazal questioned whether King would feel comfortable with similar proposals under a Democratic administration.
King, who supported the resolution, claimed she would be "100%" in favor of federal intervention if it were under the Biden administration. Another board member, Salleigh Grubbs, also supported the resolution despite expressing a desire for minimal federal involvement, stating, "I just want people to leave me the hell alone and let me cast my vote in privacy."
The exact nature of the assistance Mills could seek from the Trump administration remains unclear. Since the 2020 election, Trump and his supporters have criticized Georgia's election machines, primarily manufactured by Dominion, which has since been acquired by Liberty Vote. Concerns have been raised about the electronic ballot-marking devices used in Georgia, with experts recommending a shift away from machines that encode votes in QR or barcodes.
Trump has made efforts to limit the use of such machines, signing an executive order in March 2025 aimed at decertifying them, although court orders have prevented the U.S. Election Assistance Commission from acting on that directive. Recently, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin requested a legal determination regarding whether voting machines that utilize barcodes and QR codes violate the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). The resolution by Roddy builds on this request, demanding that Raffensperger share data to assist with this legal determination.
This resolution follows a special committee's efforts to reform Georgia's election system, which aims to phase out ballot-marking devices for most voters, though federal law requires such devices to remain available for voters with disabilities.