The Georgia State Election Commission announced on Friday rule The bill would require all counties to count ballots by hand in the next election.
The proposal would require a manual count at polling stations in addition to the machine count already in place. A poll manager and two poll workers would be tasked with opening the ballot boxes and independently counting the ballots. If the results match, they would be compared with the machine count and any discrepancies would be resolved.
“Every time you say this may be illegal, you're inviting litigation.”
The rules are intended to “ensure the security, transparency and accuracy of voting.”
Critics of the proposal say it would significantly slow down the vote counting process and delay the announcement of Georgia's election results.
Council member Janelle King (R) supported the proposal. stated Ahead of Friday's vote, Georgia LawPart of our role as the State Election Commission is to “promulgate rules and regulations defining uniform and nondiscriminatory standards.”
“As I've said many times, having some counties do manual counts and some don't does not create uniformity. This rule will create uniformity, and we have the ability to do so, without violating any statute,” King said.
Committee Chairman John Favier (R-Ill.), who opposes adopting the new rules, pushed back against King's comments.
“I think it says we are following the rules and existing laws, and if there is no legal backing for this…” Ferbier said.
“Can I see that, Chairman?” King asked.
“Have you read the Attorney General's opinion?” Fervier asked King, after sighing and appearing to place his hands on the table in frustration.
“I'm not talking about the attorney general's opinion. I'm talking about what's written in the Georgia election code,” King responded.
In his final comments before the vote went ahead, Fervier said the board would be “contrary to the advice of our legal counsel” if it voted in favor of the rules.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican, previously said the proposal was “not bound by any law, [is]So this is likely exactly the type of legislation that an agency cannot do that is not permitted,” Carr said. He also expressed concern about such changes coming too close to the November election.
“Mr. Speaker, I must point out that every time you say this may be illegal, you welcome litigation,” King said.
The audience cheered in response to King's remarks.
“I know the lawsuit will be dismissed,” King continued, “I've read what our bylaws say we can and can't do. There's no room for debate. So I want to state publicly that I'm really getting a little tired of encouraging lawsuits.”
“I have no intention of correcting your comments,” Fervier replied.
After some back and forth, the board proceeded with a verbal vote and passed the rules 3-2.
“It's a big step forward,” said Democrat Sarah Tyndall, who voted with Fervier against the bill. CNN“Everyone I've personally spoken to is against it.”
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger argued the rule “would not withstand legal challenge.”
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