The Georgia State Election Board approved a rule that forces poll workers to count paper ballots by hand. The measure passed 3-2 Friday. Despite the new rule flying against the advice of the Attorney General’s office, the Secretary of State’s office and a group of county election officials. Here is how the new rules would work: three poll workers hand count ballots, sorting them into stacks of fifty ballots until all have been counted. The three workers must arrive at the same total. If that number doesn’t match those recorded on the voter check-in system, the electronic voting machines and the scanner recap forms, the poll manager is to determine the reasons for inconsistency. If possible, the workers and the poll manager must correct the errors.Attorney General Chris Carr warned of possible illegal condct. In his letter, he says:“The Board has no authority to promulgate rules regarding the classification or retention of documents,”and promulgation of the rule would very likely go beyond the scope of the Board’s authority and be subject to challenge as invalid.Full Chris Carr letter to State Election Board The fallout from 2020 continues to persistIn August, former President Donald Trump praised the three officials that would eventually affirm the measure. “They’re on fire. They’re doing a great job.” “Janice Johnston, Rick Jeffares and Janelle King, three people are all pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory,” Trump said.Janelle King, a member voting in favor of the new rule, argued that the board was “creating more stability in our election process”. She believes they are providing election officials the room to ensure that the final results are accurate.On August 15th, Georgia Secretary of State (and the previous administrator of Georgia’s elections) Brad Raffensperger lampooned the proposed rules.“Activists seeking to impose last-minute changes in election procedures outside of the legislative process undermine voter confidence and burden election workers,” Raffensperger said in a news release.These actions are a result of a series of actions taken by Trump allies over the past three years. Their goal since Trump lost in 2020 has been to fundamentally reshape election administration in Georgia. After Raffensperger refused to ‘find 11,780 votes’, the Georgia Legislature stripped him of his powers. In August 2024, the Georgia State Election Board voted for Attorney General Carr to investigate the Fulton County government. This request has been long on the minds of MAGA Republicans and Donald Trump alike. Democrats and some Republicans are fighting backDemocrats said during an August press conference that these moves could sow chaos and uncertainty following the elections. “What is unfolding in Georgia is nothing less than an effort to subvert democracy and move us backward,” U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, said Monday during a news conference at the state Capitol. “We must not allow our State Election Board to be taken over by Donald Trump.”Two Georgia Republicans and a non-profit organization filed a lawsuit challenging anti-democratic rules passed by the MAGA members of the State Election Board (SEB).2024-09-11-ComplaintDownload“These misguided, last-minute changes from unelected bureaucrats who have never run an election and seem to reject the advice of anyone who ever has could cause serious problems in an election that otherwise will be secure and accurate,” Raffensperger said in a statement released on August 15.Also, the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Party of Georgia Sued the State Election Board for taking similar stances.2024-08-26-PetitionDownloadThe final day to register to vote in the 2024 Presidential Election in Georgia is Monday, October 7th. Early voting in Georgia begins on October 15.  The earliest possible date new rules could take effect if passed is October 14, which is just 22 days before the General Election. The post Trump-backed Georgia State Election Board mandates ALL paper ballots be hand-counted in 2024 Elections appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.