Voter Protection Update: Concerning the Hand Count Rule in Georgia

Since we laid out in the previous Kicker the three alarming new rules created by the Georgia State Election Board (SEB), the SEB has created yet another rule that is sure to cause chaos this November and beyond. 
Rule 183-1-12-.12 Tabulating Results, commonly referred to as the Hand Counting Rule, is cause for great concern for this election. Passed only 6 weeks before the General Election, the Hand Counting Rule requires three poll workers from each polling site to hand count all ballots at the end of each day during Early Voting and on Election Day. 

After working long 14 hour days, poll workers are instructed by the SEB to divide the day’s ballots into stacks of 50 and hand count until the three workers have arrived at the same total. If that number does not match the number from both the electronic voting machines and the scanner recap forms, the poll manager must figure out the reason behind the inconsistency and fix it, if possible. As noted in last issue’s Voter Protection article, there could be many reasons why these numbers do not match. 

This new process must start once the polls close, or, if there are more than 750 ballots, the poll manager has the option to wait until the next day to conduct the hand count. If the poll manager decides to count the next day, hand counting will occur at the county’s tabulation center. For Forsyth County, the tabulation center is the county’s election office.

How voting in person works
When you go to the polls to vote, after checking in and showing valid ID, you are handed a plastic card which you insert into the electronic voting machine. At this point you vote your choice for offices, make your selections on the screen, and the machine prints your paper ballot. You then bring your paper ballot over to the scanners and feed it in. Once the scanner accepts your ballot, your vote is cast and recorded. During the entire process, your hands are the only hands to have touched your ballot. Now, with the new rule passed by the SEB, many hands will touch a single ballot. This alone is concerning and could be ripe for conspiracy theories. 

Other concerns the Hand Counting Rule raises is the need for counties to hire more poll workers. With 159 counties, there are thousands of polling locations and the need for three poll workers to count at the end of a long day changes the calculation for elections offices around the state. Will they need additional staff? Will they divide staff into shifts? Who covers if someone gets sick and cannot work? Normal administrative questions become serious issues when changes are made only 6 weeks before a general election. The stakes are raised significantly and the added pressure on election workers seems more than just unfair. 

Countering dubious rule changes
But pushback continues and the courts are considering the legality of the SEB’s actions. Almost immediately after passing the Hand Count Rule on September 20, the DNC and DPG filed a lawsuit saying that by enacting new rules after poll workers have been trained and after voting has begun (absentee ballots have begun being mailed to overseas military, government workers) - essentially too close to an election -  means that this form of election administration  is not “conducive to the fair, legal, and orderly conduct of primaries and elections.“ Their lawsuit also indicates how multiple studies have shown how ballot scanners are more accurate in tabulation than hand counting. The lawsuit asks for the entire Hand Count Rule to be thrown out.

On Tuesday, October 8, Fulton County sued the SEB over the State Election Board’s attempt to appoint election monitors to Fulton County’s newly formed election monitor team. Fulton County recently hired an independent election monitoring team lead by a former general counsel to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to watch over their 2024 election process. But, the SEB wants to appoint an election denying, conspiracy theory believing monitor instead. At this time, it is unknown how this case will be settled and how its decision will affect the rest of the state’s election offices.

Chaos and doubt in ballot counting aside, one issue that does seem closer to resolution is certifying Georgia’s election results. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney suggested in pretrial hearings last week that he seems willing to allow the SEB’s Reasonable Inquiry Rule to stand but will clarify Georgia’s law requiring county boards of elections to certify election results on November 12, 2024.  While it is a relief to know that Georgia will certify election results, the remaining new SEB rules seem designed to disenfranchise Georgia voters and create chaos and new conspiracy theories around this election cycle. 

Protect your vote 
Vote in overwhelming numbers to make sure our voices are heard and our votes are counted. Vote early if possible to lighten the load on Election Day and to avoid unwelcome surprises to keep you from the polls on Election Day.

​Here are some important dates to remember:
October 7: Absentee Ballots begin being mailed out to county residents
October 15: Early Voting begins
October 19 & 20: Early Voting Weekend for both Saturday and Sunday
October 25: Last day to request an Absentee Ballot
October 26: Saturday Early Voting
November 1: Last day of Early Voting
November 5: ELECTION DAY
November 12: County Certification Day

Check your voter registration often! If you don’t know where you can vote early or where your polling location is (remember they may be at different spots), this link will also provide that same information. 

These non-democratic groups will continue to push new and inventive ways to disrupt our democratic process of voting. It is up to us to not become disenfranchised, to instead stay engaged. 

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