The elections board in one of the most crucial battleground states in the 2024 presidential election has approved controversial new rules that will require hand counting of ballots on election night.
The Georgia Board of Elections voted 3-2 to approve rules requiring poll workers to manually count ballots after polls close, a move supported by many conservative voters but opposed by the state Attorney General's Office, Secretary of State's Office and the Association of County Election Boards.
The three-member board, which was praised by former President Donald Trump at a rally in Atlanta last month, voted to approve the measure.
Critics of the measure say it was issued at the last minute and will delay reporting of results in the state.
Polls show Trump leading Harris within the margin of error in Georgia's close race
Georgia is expected to be one of the most crucial battleground states in the November election. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
In a memo sent to election board members on Thursday, state Attorney General Chris Carr's office said there is nothing in state law that allows for manual counting of ballots at the polling place level before they are brought to county election officials for tabulation. As a result, the memo said the rule is “not bound by any law” and “arguably represents impermissible legislation that the agency cannot undertake.”
According to the Associated Press, the new rules require three poll workers at each polling place to count the number of paper ballots, rather than the number of votes, until all three numbers are the same. If there are more than 750 ballots in the scanners when polls close, poll workers can decide to start counting the ballots the next day.
The committee's chairman, Republican John Favier, voted against the rule, saying the “overwhelming majority of election officials” who contacted him were opposed to the change.
Trump's new voter fraud task force prepares for battle over 'election integrity'
A file photo of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaking at the Atlanta Press Club's Loudermilk-Young Debate Series, Oct. 18, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Ben Gray File)
“I think it's still too close to the election,” Ferbier said, “and too late to train a lot of poll workers.”
Other conservatives on social media praised the move as a step in the right direction to avoid voter fraud, including former White House Press Secretary Liz Harrington. Post to X He said the decision was “great news.”
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There are “I Voted” stickers on the tables at the polling station.
“YES!!!” Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene Posted in X. “Well done Georgia State Election Commission!! Thank you for fighting for election integrity in every way possible!!”
In 2020, nearly 5 million votes were cast in the presidential election statewide, more than half of which were early votes.
According to recent polls, Harris and Trump are neck and neck in Georgia, with approximately 46.9% of voters currently saying they will vote for Trump, compared to 44.4% who say they will vote for Harris.
Timothy H.J. Nerozzi of Fox News Digital, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
