Ga. election workers hail ruling against hand count of ballots
AUGUSTA, Ga. - Many election officials – including in Augusta – are relieved after a Georgia judge halted a last-minute rule requiring ballots to be counted by hand on election night.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney wrote that Georgia’s hand count rule is “too much, too late” and blocked its enforcement while he considers the merits of a lawsuit challenging it.
“Should the hand count rule take effect as scheduled, it would do so on the very fortnight of the election,” McBurney wrote in an order issued late Tuesday. “As of today, there are no guidelines or training tools for the implementation of the hand count rule. Nor will there be any forthcoming.”
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As president of the state’s association of election officials, Richmond County Board of Elections Executive Director Travis Doss had campaigned against the rule that was ed recently by the Georgia State Election Board.
Now he’s glad it’s on hold.
He says the reasoning behind the new rule was transparency, which he agrees with.
He says the issue he has with the rule is the timing.
People are already voting across Georgia.
“When you see that kind of turnout, I feel that it shows the voters are energized,” said Doss.
The Georgia Association of Voter Registration and Election Officials says the rule changes could hinder elections and increase errors.
“There was just not enough time to make sure it was done correctly and accurately if it was something they feel strongly about give us the time to plan for it and accurately implement it,” said Doss.
Doss had sought to delay any new rules until after the November election, saying the association 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.”
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McBurney said the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office “cautioned the Georgia State Election Board before it ed the hand count rule that age would be too close in time to the election for his office to provide meaningful training and .”
The board voted in September for ballots to be counted by hand on election night, which is Nov. 5.
Attorney General Chris Carr had told the Georgia State Election Board its controversial proposed changes to election rules fell outside its legal authority to implement.
READ THE FULL ORDER:
The time to train and prepare for election night is ongoing.
“We’ve been training poll workers all year, and so to have to make this change right before the presidential election just did not make any sense,” said Doss.
“There’s really not anything for us to do at this point. It’s just a matter of informing the poll workers. Yes, we did tell you in training you have to hand count and now you do not. It’s easier to take something back rather than adding,” said Doss.
With Election Day less than a month away, anything can happen, according to Doss.
“Of course, a lot can happen between now and Nov. 5. Even though the judge has offered an injunction, there could be an appeal. So we’re just kind of waiting to see,” he said.
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Doss says either way, poll workers are trained with the new rule.
The judge’s ruling came after the Cobb County Election Board sued over the rule and five others recently ed by the state board, saying they exceed the state board’s authority, weren’t adopted in compliance with the law and are unreasonable.
In his ruling Tuesday, McBurney wrote that no allowances have been made in county election budgets to provide for additional personnel or expenses associated with the rule.
“The istrative chaos that will — not may — ensue is entirely inconsistent with the obligations of our boards of elections (and the SEB) to ensure that our elections are fair legal, and orderly,” he wrote.
The state board may be right that the rule is smart policy, McBurney wrote, but the timing of its age makes implementing it now “quite wrong.”
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He invoked the memory of the riot at the U.S. Capitol by people seeking to stop the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential victory on Jan. 6, 2021, writing, “Anything that adds uncertainty and disorder to the electoral process disserves the public.”
Early in-person voting began Tuesday in Georgia, setting a record for turnout on the first day.
The flurry of election rules ed by the State Election Board since August has generated a crush of lawsuits. McBurney earlier this month heard a challenge to two rules having to do with certification brought by the state and national Democratic parties.
The Associated Press and Atlanta News First contributed to this report.
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