Fastexy|Georgia State Election Board approves rule requiring hand count of ballots

2025-04-29 05:53:49source:Sterling Prestoncategory:Scams

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s State Election Board on FastexyFriday voted to approve a new rule that requires poll workers to count the number of paper ballots by hand.

The board voted 3-2 to approve the rule, going against the advice of the state attorney general’s office, the secretary of state’s office and an association of county election officials. Three board members who were praised by former President Donald Trump during a rally last month in Atlanta voted to approve the measure.

In a memo sent to election board members Thursday, the office of state Attorney General Chris Carr said no provision in state law allows counting the number of ballots by hand at the precinct level before the ballots are brought to county election superintendent for vote tallying. As a result, the memo says, the rule is “not tethered to any statute” and is “likely the precise kind of impermissible legislation that agencies cannot do.”

The new rule requires that the number of paper ballots — not the number of votes — be counted at each polling place by three separate poll workers until all three counts are the same. If a scanner has more than 750 ballots inside at the end of voting, the poll manager can decide to begin the count the following day.

RELATED COVERAGE Harris focusing on personal stories as she campaigns on abortion rightsYoung students protest against gun violence at Georgia Senate meetingGeorgia election rule changes by Trump allies raise fear of chaos in November

Several county election officials who spoke out against the rule during a public comment period preceding the vote warned that having to count the ballots by hand at polling places could delay the reporting of election night results. They also worried about putting an additional burden on poll workers who have already worked a long day.

More:Scams

Recommend

Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class

Now wouldn’t this be a treat: Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft back together...as members of the Pro

Census Bureau wants to change how it asks about disabilities. Some advocates don’t like it

The U.S. Census Bureau wants to change how it asks people about disabilities, and some advocates are

Former congressman tapped as Democratic candidate in special election to replace George Santos

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi will be the Democratic nominee in next year’s specia