A crucial battleground state has introduced changes to its voting procedures ahead of the 2024 election that former President Trump is likely to support. Georgia’s State Election Board has made significant updates to enhance the transparency and reliability of its election process. On Monday, the board approved new rules requiring a hand count verification of vote totals at the end of each voting day. This move aligns with a broader national effort to ensure election outcomes are both accurate and trusted by the public.
The Georgia State Election Board held a virtual meeting at 9 a.m. on Monday to finalize a new rule aimed at improving election transparency. The rule, which had been initially approved in July following a 3-2 vote led by Sharlene Alexander of the Fayette County election board, amends Section 183-1-12-.12(a)(5). It outlines a procedure where a poll manager and two poll officers will perform a hand count of ballots at the end of each voting day.
The rule change arrives at a pivotal moment for Georgia, which has been central to debates over election integrity since the contentious 2020 elections. The new procedure mandates that counties must reconcile paper ballot receipts with machine tabulations, a practice that Kandiss Taylor, a notable Georgia political figure, has argued should have been a standard procedure.
?BREAKING ?
GA State Election Board just voted 3-2 to force counties to reconcile the paper ballot receipt count with the tabulators.Should have been happening!!!
Thank you to our 3 true Georgians on the SEB!
— Kandiss Taylor (@KandissTaylor) August 19, 2024
The decision is especially noteworthy as Georgia prepares for another potentially contentious election cycle. With polls predicting a tight race and a well-organized group of Trump-aligned election activists, the state is expected to be a key battleground for electoral disputes.
Georgia’s State Election Board, like its counterparts in other swing states, was established as an independent agency to set voting rules and guide poll workers, ensuring elections are conducted with integrity and free from political influence. Under the new rules, a poll manager and two sworn poll officers are required to manually unseal and open each scanner ballot box. They will remove the paper ballots, record the date and time of the box’s emptying, and count the ballots independently. The ballots will be organized in stacks of 50, with each officer participating in the counting process.
The manual counting process is intended to provide a reliable check against electronic tabulation systems. Once all three officials agree on the total independently, they must sign a control document that certifies the accuracy of the count. This document includes details such as the polling place, ballot scanner serial number, and election name. If discrepancies arise between the hand count and the electronic totals recorded on precinct poll pads and ballot marking devices, the poll manager is responsible for investigating the cause, making necessary corrections, and thoroughly documenting any issues and their resolutions.
The amendments are designed to minimize the risk of collusion and sabotage of election results while addressing frequent concerns about errors in electronic voting systems, and they come after the highly contentious aftermath of the 2020 Georgia election, which was marked by intense controversy and scrutiny over the presidential race results. Allegations of widespread voter fraud led to numerous legal challenges and significant public and media attention. The situation also brought to light the pressures faced by election officials, including figures like Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
