Georgia election board approves controversial rule change requiring ballots be hand-counted

The Republican-led Georgia State Election Board on Friday passed a major rule change just a few weeks before the November election requiring the hand-counting of all ballots, prompting fears from both sides of the aisle of potential long delays in the reporting of election results.

The rule, passed 3-2 with the Republican members leading the way, now requires the hand counting of ballots at each precinct in addition to the customary machine count.

Under the new rule, poll workers would need to unseal and remove ballots cast on Election Day from the machine scanners and three poll officers would need to independently hand count the total number of ballots in stacks, arriving at the same total.

Proponents of the rule change downplayed fears of delays and concerns about breaks in chains of custody, during a heating hearing and argued the change would bring more integrity and transparency to the state's election procedures.

"You're pulling them out of a pile and you're strictly going to go to the corner and you're just going to count those ballots. Now, how difficult is that? That is not a big deal. I mean, in my opinion, that's not a big deal," Sharlene Alexander, who helped present the measure to the board, said.

Former President Donald Trump has publicly praised the push from the Republican members to implement additional measures. He continues to claim fraud in the 2020 election and that he won Georgia without any legitimate evidence.

During an Atlanta rally in August, Trump called the Republican board members who have pushed the changes "pit bulls fighting for victory."

He also specifically praised the proposal that would require the independent verification of ballots from three different election workers, asking the crowd, "Who could be against that? Who could be against it?"

"My last comment is this vote, this board voted to have on the record that we'll be going against the advice of our legal counsel by voting in the affirmative. We will have no further discussion," Chairman John Fervier, who was appointed Chair by Georgia's Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, said Friday as he strongly criticized the board's decision.

Many state officials have already raised concerns about the feasibility and legality of the last-minute changes, and during the meeting election workers spoke up about the burdens this rule change would have on election workers.

"What I do in my county is not what my neighboring county does. They do not have the resources to do that. So, to say that it would not cause delays on election night is not true or accurate. It will cause delays for certain counties," Rebecca England, an election worker from Greene County, said during a discussion about the burden the change would put on election officials.

The election board rejected a proposal that would have required hand-counting during early voting, which begins on Oct. 15.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican, opposed the rule changes and his office issued a warning to the board ahead of today's meeting, specifically laying out how approving the hand-counting proposal likely violates state law warned the board that it may not be lawful.

"There are thus no provisions in the statutes cited in support of these proposed rules that permit counting the number of ballots by hand at the precinct level prior to delivery to the election superintendent for tabulation," his office wrote in a letter to the election board Thursday.

"Accordingly, these proposed rules are not tethered to any statute- -- and are, therefore, likely the precise type of impermissible legislation that agencies cannot do," the letter continued.

An attorney for Brad Raffensperger, Georgia's secretary of state, who was allegedly pressured by Former President Donald Trump not to certify the 2020 election, also sent a letter to the board warning the board not to go through with the changes at such a late stage.

While raising concerns about potential delays, Raffensperger assured voters that he "fully anticipate[s]" election results will be certified by Nov. 12, in compliance with state law.

Vice President Kamala Harris and other groups have filed lawsuits against the changes contending that they will cause disruptions to the certification process.