Georgia election board requires poll workers to hand count ballots in November

• Vote count and certification procedures in most swing states could extend beyond Election Day, delaying when former President Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris is officially declared the winner.

How it works: Three sworn poll officers at each polling place will have to independently hand count ballots on Nov. 5 or 6.

• Their results must match those of the scanner recap forms.
• Inconsistencies will be resolved and documented by the poll manager.

Context: Ballots previously were to remain sealed and securely stored unless a recount was ordered, per the existing rule.

State of play: The board's three-member majority voting bloc — who Trump publicly praised as "pitbulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory" — spearheaded this change and others despite outspoken public criticism, the Washington Post reported.

• "The board risks passing rules that may easily be challenged and determined to be invalid," a Thursday letter from the state attorney general's office said.

Zoom in: State Elections Board Chair John Fervier said this rule is being instituted too close to the election, citing a lack of resources in some counties and training that has already begin.

• "This board is an administrative body," he said. "It's not a legislative body. If the legislature had wanted this, they would have put it in statute."

The big picture: Machine counting eliminates human error, fatigue and bias, per the Institute for Responsible Government.

• The new rule in Georgia is expected to cost at least $1.5 million for staffing alone, the institute said.

Go deeper:

• 2020 déjà vu: Why the 2024 election could take days to call
• Georgia county election boards could become 2024 battleground

Editor's note: The story has been updated with a report from the Institute for Responsible Government.