ATLANTA — The Georgia State Election Board voted to require hand counting of ballots at polling places.
The board met Friday and the board’s chairman, John Fervier, warned before the vote that anyone voting in the affirmative was going against the advice of their legal counsel at the Attorney General’s office.
The office of Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr sent a letter to the members of Georgia’s State Election Board Friday morning telling them some of the planned rule changes to election policies ahead of the presidential race may conflict with state law as well as the board’s authority.
Channel 2 Action News has a reporter and photographer at the meeting, and will have the latest on this developing story RIGHT NOW on Channel 2 Action News at Noon.
The attorney general’s office also told the board that passing rules about how elections are conducted is “disfavored when implemented close to an election.”
Several county election officials who spoke out against the rule during a public comment period preceding the vote warned that having to count the ballots by hand at polling places could delay the reporting of election night results. They also worried about putting an additional burden on poll workers who have already worked a long day.
MORE ELECTION 2024 STORIES:
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- Group of Georgia election officials asks State Election Board to stop changing rules before election
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