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Georgia senators shot down a bill Friday that would have switched the state’s voting method to paper ballots filled out by hand before this November’s elections.

The bill’s defeat sets up a scramble for Georgia lawmakers to find a way to remove computer QR codes from ballots this year, as required by a state law passed two years ago.

The Senate voted 27-21 on the bill, two votes short of the majority needed for legislation to pass in the 56-member Senate. Seven senators skipped the vote following warnings of election “chaos” if it passed.

“We’re at an impasse,” said Sen. Max Burns, R-Sylvania. “If we ignore it again, we’re just going to kick the can. Sooner or later, folks, you have to pay the piper, and it’s time to remove the QR codes.”

All in-person Georgia voters use touchscreens that print out paper ballots, which are then tabulated by scanning machines that read a QR code. Critics of Georgia’s voting technology say the QR codes prevent voters from being able to ensure that their ballot accurately reflects their choices.

Hand-marked ballots are the main election day voting method in two-thirds of the United States, according to the election technology organization Verified Voting.

The effort to replace Georgia’s voting equipment, purchased for over $100 million before the 2020 election, is driven by a combination of election skeptics and election security advocates.

The legislation, Senate Bill 568, also would have limited early voting locations. Currently, Georgians can vote in advance of an election at any location in their county, but the bill would have assigned voters to one site to ensure the correct ballots are pre-printed for each jurisdiction.

“It would be chaos if we were to implement it this fast,” said Sen. Kim Jackson, D-Stone Mountain. “This bill is too hasty, it does not protect Georgians, and it fundamentally destabilizes our electoral system.”

Because SB 568 failed before Friday’s deadline for bills to pass at least one legislative chamber, either the state Senate or House, it’s likely dead this legislative session.

But it could be revived by amending a different elections bill that has advanced. One candidate is Senate Bill 214, a measure that cleared the Senate last year that would also require almost all Georgia voters to bubble in their choices instead of using touchscreen computers.

Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, said lawmakers need to prioritize converting to hand-marked ballots now, before this year’s midterm elections.

“All we’ve heard is excuses,” Dolezal said. “Here we sit after having promised that we would do it after the last election, and it’s still not done. … I don’t think it’s ever going to be easy.”

Georgia’s primary election in May will still be held with the touchscreen voting technology, but the state law prohibiting QR-coded ballots goes into effect July 1.