The Georgia State Election Board voted 3-2 on Friday to require counties to hand-count all ballots, in addition to machine tallies, in the 2024 election.
The decision, driven by the board’s Republican majority, means that ballots in Georgia will be hand-counted by election workers the night of Nov. 5 in addition to the normal machine tallies that take place. The move was celebrated by allies of former President Donald Trump, who believe that the changes will help alleviate concerns of voter fraud the former president raised four years ago in relation to President Joe Biden’s narrow victory in the Peach State.
GREAT NEWS!
GA State Election Board passes 3-2 resolution 181-1-12-.12
HAND COUNT at precinct level to ensure the totals match with the machines
This is a HUGE win and was opposed by the Fake News, the Left, and Raffensperger pic.twitter.com/12FxvV9Tf4
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) September 20, 2024
“GREAT NEWS!” former Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington said, praising the passage of the resolution. “HAND COUNT at precinct level to ensure the totals match with the machines … This is a HUGE win and was opposed by the Fake News, the Left, and Raffensperger.”
The decision also sparked some criticism from election officials and democracy advocates who fear it will cause delays, errors, and increased costs for the state. In the 2020 election, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced six days after Election Day that there would be a statewide hand recount, and the results were not certified until Nov. 20.
Opponents argue that the hand count could take weeks or months, leading to uncertainty in the presidential race. Ethan Compton, an elections supervisor, emphasized that it is too late to adopt such changes, stating, “The election has begun.”
“This is not the time to change the rules,” Compton said.
Proponents, including Sharlene Alexander of Fayette County, claimed that the rule will enhance transparency by verifying machine counts.
Critics also cited concerns about federal court precedent, which discourages significant rule changes within 90 days of an election. Some fear the rule could provide grounds for delaying the certification of results.
“Requiring poll workers to hand-count ballots … will do nothing more than provide exhausted patriots with an opportunity to undermine public confidence through an honest mistake,” Bartow County elections chief Joseph Kirk warned.
Despite the backlash, Trump has praised the Republican members of the board, calling them “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency, and victory” at a summer rally.
Before the meeting ended, Chairman John Fervier cautioned that approving the new rule would be “going against the advice of our legal counsel.”
Janelle King, one of three members who approved the new rule, warned Fervier that publicly airing his concerns could prompt litigation against the board.
“I have to point out that every time you make a statement that this could be against the law, you are welcoming lawsuits, lawsuits that will be dismissed, lawsuits that we know will be dismissed,” King said.
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An Oct. 1 trial is already slated over separate rule changes the board made last month. One rule concerns the legality of a “reasonable inquiry rule,” which requires vote certification only after a “reasonable inquiry” has been conducted to ensure that the vote tabulation and canvassing are complete and accurate. The other surrounds an “examination rule,” which permits individual election board members to review election-related documentation before certifying the results.
The lawsuit was brought by the Democratic National Committee, among others, and asserts that the changes could create discord throughout the postelection process in Georgia and lead to postponing certification of the results. The trial will be live-streamed.
