Georgia Election Board Under Fire: Democrats Challenge Hand-Count Rule

Georgia's election board has been facing intense scrutiny over a new rule requiring officials to hand-count ballots on election day. The Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Party of Georgia have sued the board, claiming the rule is unlawful and could lead to delays and confusion after election night. The rule, adopted in a 3-2 vote, requires the poll manager and a team of two other workers in each voting precinct to separate ballots into stacks of 50 and hand-count them. This process could lead to inconsistencies and chain-of-custody issues. The hand-count rule has been met with widespread criticism from election officials and voting rights groups. Experts have long pointed out that hand-counts are less reliable than machine counts, and the process could cause chaos on election night. In Georgia, a battleground state in the upcoming presidential election, the concern over post-election chaos is particularly acute. The lawsuit claims that the hand-count rule exceeds the state election board's statutory authority and is illegal for several reasons. First, there is no hand-count requirement outlined in Georgia law, and the state election board cannot enact requirements beyond what is written in state statute. Second, imposing a hand-count this close to an election would cause disorder, going against the board's mandate to ensure orderly elections. Finally, Democrats claim the board did not follow proper procedures to enact the measures.

Chris Carr, the Georgia attorney general, advised the board that the new requirement was probably illegal, citing the lack of a hand-count requirement in state law. The rule is one of several that a new, pro-Trump majority on the state election board has enacted this year. Other rules have sparked controversy, including a requirement for local officials to explain inconsistencies between the total number of voters who check in and the number of ballots cast in a precinct. The Democratic Party is stepping in to ensure a free and fair election. Quentin Fulks, principal deputy campaign manager for Kamala Harris's presidential campaign, said that Democrats are fighting to protect the integrity of the election process. "As Donald Trump invents facts to try to sow doubt in our elections, his Maga allies in Georgia passed a new rule just weeks before election day that will obstruct the process of counting votes so they can complain when voters reject Trump at the polls," Fulks said.

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