Richmond County election chief is among chorus fighting hand-counting of ballots

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Georgians are reacting to the state Election Board’s decision to require hand-counting of ballots on election night.

Friday’s 3-2 vote came against the advice of the state attorney general, the secretary of state’s office and an association of county election officials that’s led by Richmond County Board of Elections Executive Director Travis Doss.

“It was very frustrating because you had election directors there telling the state elections board that this was not a good idea, that there are other ways of doing it. There was the attorney general telling the state elections board that this is borderline illegal, and they still the rule anyway,” said Doss.

ers at the state level say hand counting ballots are vital for things like public trust and election integrity. But those locally say timing is only the start of the issues.

Doss says this is what the election will look like behind the counter on Nov. 5.

“They’re just sitting there going, 1-2-3-4-5-6–8 ugh. 1-2-3, that’s what we’re concerned about,” said Doss.

The Georgia Association of Voter Registration and Election Officials says the rule changes could hinder elections and increase errors.

Doss had asked the board to delay any new rules until after the November election, saying the group was “gravely concerned that dramatic changes at this stage will disrupt the preparation and training processes already in motion for poll workers, absentee voting, advance voting and Election Day preparation.”

He said rule changes at this stage would create unnecessary confusion among both the public and poll workers.

“We are already in the midst of extensive training preparation for our poll workers and preparing for one of the biggest and most scrutinized elections in years,” Doss said in a statement ahead of the vote. “Any last-minute changes to the rules risk undermining the public’s trust in the electoral process and place undue pressure on the individuals responsible for managing the polls and istering the election. This could ultimately lead to errors or delays in voting, which is the last thing anyone wants.”

The new rule requires paper ballots to be counted at each polling place by three polling workers to make sure all counts are the same.

“When you think about having to count thousands of pieces of paper, how many human error mistakes there can be,” said Doss.

He’s been in the business longer than most marriages.

“We tried this back in 2019 when we first started this voting system, and sad to say, but humans can’t count,” he said.

When you’ve been clocked in since 5:30 a.m., this can be even more challenging according to Doss.

“People have difficulty doing a repetitive task over a long period of time, and so you’re talking about poll workers who have been working since 5:30 a.m. The polls close at 7 p.m., they probably won’t even start counting until about 8 p.m. and they’re expecting them to actually get an accurate number after working an entire day of work when there are so many other ways we could do this, more secure ways we could do this,” said Doss.

Doss says timing is the least of the problems. It’s what could happen in between.

“We are so under the microscope right now, we are in the spotlight as a battleground state, and the last thing we need is this type of confusion, this type of unrest, where people are, you know, would call into question the election results,” he said.

Right now there’s a 20-day grace period before this is made official on Oct. 11, but we could see lawsuits keeping this from becoming official.

Until then, Doss says they are training their poll workers on long days and how to count these ballots, so there are no questions.

At a time when maintaining public confidence in elections is more important than ever, making changes so close to Election Day only raises concerns and fears among voters, the group said.

Ahead of the vote, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said the Election Board would be overstepping its authority by implementing new rules.

In a memo sent to of the board, he said no provision in state law allows hand counting of ballots at precincts. The memo says the rule is “not tethered to any statute” and is “likely the precise kind of impermissible legislation that agencies cannot do.”

Such a legal challenge is already in motion.

In a lawsuit seeking to declare the rules invalid, Democrats argue the state election board exceeded its legal authority. A trial is set for Oct. 1.

Since August, the GOP-controlled board has gotten criticism for several changes.

The three board who voted to approve the measure were “praised by former President Donald Trump during a rally last month in Atlanta.”

Kelton Allen is a Georgia voter who has followed the board’s decisions and is concerned with the timing.

“This potentially could lead to confusion and people feeling as if they shouldn’t come out to the polls to vote because their vote may not be secure...this undermines election security,” Allen said.

“This does nothing but divide us as a country, as a state, as a people especially as we approach an election trying to change the way in which we conduct elections,” he said.

State Rep. Dexter Sharper said he believes the electronic voting system is the most accurate way to reassure voters and a new process should not be enacted before a huge turnout.

“I think they felt that was the best thing to make sure that people felt their vote will count and will matter and the process is fair for everyone,” Sharper said.

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