Pro-Trump Georgia election board changes rules 45 days before election

https://www.newsweek.com/georgia-election-ballots-hand-counting-donald-trump-1957062

36 Comments

  1. By Dan Gooding | Live News Reporter

    The key battleground state of Georgia’s election board voted Friday to force ballots to be hand-counted three times before a result is declared.

    As one of multiple motions on changing how elections are run, less than 50 days out from Nov. 5, the new rule passed 3-2 on the conservative-leaning panel.

    Read more: [https://www.newsweek.com/georgia-election-ballots-hand-counting-donald-trump-1957062](https://www.newsweek.com/georgia-election-ballots-hand-counting-donald-trump-1957062)

  2. This is so transparently being done in bad faith. The fact that they’re making significant changes so close to a huge election makes that clear, even without looking at any of the specific decisions.

    When you do look at some of the specifics, it’s obvious that they’re going to create huge logistical problems that in no way can be properly planned for in such a short amount of time. And all of these problems were clearly brought up to the election board members.

    They are purposely sabotaging the election counting process in order to create chaos that they thing might help their preferred candidate. It’s blatantly clear, and the fact that they’re even allowed to make changes this close to the election is ridiculous.

  3. It’s a stall tactic so they can postpone certifying election results past the December 11 deadline after which it’s contested by the house. At least 30 election boards across the country are already planning to use this to stall or confuse vote totals. Unless Harris wins by a significant landslide margin this is going to be nasty.

  4. The best way to tell how scared republicans are is the number of rule changes prior to an election.

  5. CreativeProblemFail on

    Georgia friends, this is even stronger proof that you need to get out and vote! The best way to combat this is overwhelming numbers of voting. This is your moment to try to put these voting fraud lies to rest.

  6. This is beyond repugnant. Voting has already begun in Virginia. I am so tired of republicans tilting the field in their favor and getting away with it.

    I guess talking about a rigged election (for the past 9 years) was projection as always.

  7. I live in Oregon, we have been voting by mail for decades without controversy. Voting is not hard unless it’s to someone’s advantage.

  8. Potential_Degree7089 on

    Isn’t it ironic how we’re going back to hand-counting ballots like it’s 1776? In the age of AI and self-driving cars, we’re relying on human hands to fix election trust issues? If tech can’t be trusted with ballots, should we rethink self-checkout too? Or maybe go back to bartering?

  9. Even Georgia’s own AG (Republican) stated that the board is likely overstepping its authority with this move.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if a lawsuit is filed and an emergency injunction is granted stopping these rules from taking effect. Especially since the AG would be the one presumably having to defend the election board in court.

  10. Dapper-Membership on

    So…force hand counting so poll workers can do their jobs safely and in a timely manner? Yeah…that sure seemed to work out for those workers last election. Get ready for major intimidation and a long drawn out process…. just unreal the shit the GOP is pulling.

  11. so…the plan in Georgia is for the republicans to make the vote count painfully slow while Trump demands that he be declared the winner when the polls closed and then moan about cheating ad nauseam there after.

  12. OptimalSpring6822 on

    Oh man…. I hope after each recount they find Harriss with more votes every time. Hahahha!

  13. North Carolina legislative branch fucked us too with the RFK Jr bullshit. The Supreme Court allowed him to be removed from the ballot 5 days after the deadline. They now have to reprint millions of ballots, so early voting has been basically shut down until they can finish the job. Bullshit machinations by the minority party to insure they have the advantage at all times. It’s fucking unconstitutional.

  14. When are people gonna start doing something about all the shit Trump is doing all of. It is not legal. He’s threatening people and his plans are to harm people so I don’t understand what the hell is going on.

  15. Three hand counts from the party of “all counting should be done on Election Day” and “STOP THE COUNT”? Sounds pretty weird

  16. Asleep-Barnacle-3961 on

    If democracy survives, the GOP doesn’t, and party leaders know it.

    That explains much Republican activity around voting.

  17. I’ve written so many times on this, but here I go again:

    I’m an election worker, an assistent precinct manager, in DeKalb County, GA. I’ve been through three election cycles so far.

    As far as I know, from the information that has come out, THIS ISN’T A BIG DEAL. Because WE ALREADY DO THIS. What has been described:

    “On Election Day, the poll manager and two sworn poll officers would unseal boxes, remove and record ballots and then three officers would each count all the votes.

    If all three totals match, then the result would be signed off and the documents sealed again.”

    …is already standard operating procedure in DeKalb county and has been for awhile. Note, I’m making an assumption here based on previous reporting. We are ONLY counting the TOTAL number of printed ballots and matching that number to the three other machines in each precinct. If that’s what they are “directing” us to do…then I don’t mind. We already do what is being described in the story.

    At the end of the voting day, all the printed ballots are in the Scanner/Ballot box. After telling the scanner to close the polls, we print off three copies of the results from that scanner. The first copy goes with the memory chip from the scanner which is picked up separately from everything else by sworn courier officers. The second copy of the results is attached to the ballot box/scanner recap sheet which goes to the county office. The third copy of the results is posted publicly outside the precinct, usually on the door. In most elections, the campaigns have runners waiting for this information who copy it down and run off to the next precinct.

    The actual printed ballots themselves are removed from the sealed ballot box and counted by three teams, each headed by one of the managers. We confirm that the number of printed ballots match the number of printed ballots reported by the ballot marking devices (the big touch screens) and also to the number of voter check-ins from the Poll Pads on the check in desk. Honestly, we keep a count of that number all day and report it hourly. We make sure that count never deviates from all three sources. After all the printed ballots are counted, we bind them together in groups of 25 and seal them into ballot transport boxes for delivery with all our other paperwork to the central office.

    AMA about DeKalb county GA voting procedures and safe guards. Honestly, I really don’t understand why everyone is so nuts about this change. We already do this, it’s been a county rule for awhile. They are just now making it a state rule as well, I guess, with lots of headlines and performative bullshit to go along with it.

  18. RiffRaffCatillacCat on

    The J6 insurrection never stopped, it just spread nationwide to local election districts.

    Thanks Garland, for refusing to hold any of the GOP involved with the planning, funding, and inciting of the J6 attack on American Democracy. You’ve given them permission to continue their insurrection. So they are.

  19. It’s all about causing chaos and delays so they can trigger a contingent election. If nobody reaches 270 electoral votes, which can be accomplished by sabotaging state-level certifications so that state’s votes can’t be counted toward the total, then it automatically goes to a contingent election where Congress decides the winner but it is only one vote per state so Republicans know they can’t lose there. This is the plan. Delay, distract, flood the courts so they can’t rule before certification deadlines, force hand recounts, etc. Whatever slows things down to a crawl.

  20. All the rigging is happening out in the open. Also in Nebraska they are trying to change rules right now.

  21. Hand counting three times makes it impossible to have a timely result and it’s just transparent election interference.

  22. Dems better have their army of lawyers all OVER this shit. This whole “move the goalposts at the last minute” bullshit should be a fucking felony for sure.

  23. MulberryBeautiful542 on

    “force ballots to be hand-counted three times before a result is declared.”

    They’re gunna run out the clock. Force the courts to make the decision. There’s no way yo get 3 rounds of hand counts done in time.