The Georgia House of Representatives on Thursday approved new rules for challenging voters and qualifying for the state’s presidential primary, which could impact the 2024 presidential race in the battleground state.

The House passed Senate Bill 189 by a vote of 101 to 73. It now heads to the Senate for consideration. Republicans in Georgia have repeatedly put forward election changes following false claims by former President Trump and other Republicans that he lost Georgia’s 16 electoral votes in 2020 due to fraud.

SB 189 would grant access to Georgia elections to any political party that has qualified for presidential elections in at least 20 states or territories. The change could provide a boost to independent candidates like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose campaign has Democrats worried it could chip away at President Biden’s support.

The bill also specifies the likely cause for enforcement of voter eligibility issues. Probable cause could exist if someone is dead, voted or registered to vote in another jurisdiction, registered for property tax exemption in another jurisdiction, or is registered at a non-residential address.

Democrats denounced the provision, saying it would allow more baseless attacks on voters, overwhelming election administrators and disenfranchising people.

State Rep. Saira Draper of Atlanta said the provision was based on lies and fear-mongering.

“You know the policy not to negotiate with terrorists.” I wish we had a policy of not making laws to appease conspiracy theorists.

Another Democratic lawmaker, Ruwa Romman, said the bill and others like it erode confidence in the election system, a foundation of American democracy.

We have a responsibility to push back on lies and not turn them into law, she said.

Republican Rep. Victor Anderson defended the voter challenge section, pointing to a provision that deems the inclusion of a person’s name on the U.S. Postal Services National Change of Address List insufficient by itself to sustain a challenge. He also noted a provision postponing challenges that arise within 45 days of an election.

Colleagues, I argue that our bill actually makes the challenge process more difficult, he said.

Republican Rep. John LaHood said the bill would strengthen confidence in elections.

What this bill does is make your legal vote matter, he said.

The bill would also require counties to report the results of all absentee ballots within an hour after polls close, and require counties to use paper ballots in elections involving fewer than 5,000 people, although that change would not take effect until 2025 .

The measure also says that starting July 1, 2026, the state will no longer be able to use a QR code to count ballots created on state ballot marking devices. That’s how votes are counted now, but opponents say voters don’t trust QR codes because they can’t read them. Instead, the bill says ballots must be read using the text, or human-readable marks such as filled-in bubbles, made by the machines.

State lawmakers have already sent bills to the governor that would require audits of more than one statewide election, add an additional security feature to ballots, limit the number of U.S. citizens who can serve as poll workers and allow a reduced number of voting machines.

Thanawala and Amy write for the Associated Press.