In another win for election integrity efforts in Georgia, the state board of elections—in a 3-2 decision—is requiring counties to hand count all ballots in November’s election. According to the Georgia State Election Board, ballots will still be counted electronically as well, but the hand count will be required prior to official certification of the election results.
The initiative was spearheaded by local activists without help from the Republican National Committee or Trump campaign staff.
Critics of the decision are disingenuously claiming that requiring a handout has the potential of “upending the November election” and could “[delay] reporting of results by weeks if not months.” However, the electronic count will still occur, and voters will almost certainly know the election results reasonably quickly.
The hand count will simply act as a transparency measure to confirm the electronic results. While it may take time, it will occur before the results can be certified. Most U.S. states already take a week or more to certify their presidential election results.
Proponents of the new rule note that significant irregularities have been uncovered in several Georgia counties. The National Pulse reported in May that numerous deficiencies were found by the Georgia Secretary of State’s office in Fulton County, including that election officials implemented improper procedures during its 2020 presidential election recount.
The inquiry was prompted by a July 8, 2022, complaint alleging the inappropriate count of 17,852 ballots. The investigation revealed duplicate ballot images, implying probable multiple scanning of some ballots and thousands of missing ballot images.
Earlier this summer, the state’s election board enacted two other measures. Both rules ensure that the number of ballots cast is the number of ballots counted prior to certification.
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