Georgia Election Board approves ballot hand count despite AG warning

Ray Bogan

The Georgia State Election Board approved a new rule which will require poll workers to hand count ballots, despite a warning from the State Attorney General that such a rule likely exceeds their authority. The 3-2 vote Friday was part of a series of votes on about a dozen rules that pertained to absentee ballots, ballot chain of custody, and partisan poll watchers. 

The change comes 46 days before the general election and a little more than three weeks before early voting begins. 

Critics said the new rule will unnecessarily delay election tabulation, and warned of possible mistakes by exhausted poll workers. 

Barbara Gooby, Poll Manager, Chatham County: “On election day, I start at 530 in the morning and maybe finish by 9:30pm, by which time my brain and I are pretty much mush. To hand count the ballots. We would need the following resources, time to rest between Election Day and hand counting, pay for all additional hours worked magnifiers because the print on the ballots is Teensy. Someone to guard each precinct and ballot box when we’re not there..”

She went on to list more necessary resources. 

But another poll worker said he thought the rules could help build confidence in election results. 

Richard Schroeder, Georgia poll worker: “i’ll stay till the, as long as it takes to count those ballots and make our elections more better.”

The Chairman of the Election Board warned his fellow members against approving the rule. 

John Fervier, Board Chairman: “I want to make on the record that we’ll be going against the advice of our legal counsel by voting in the affirmative.”

Janelle King, Board Member: “You are welcoming lawsuits. Lawsuits that will be dismissed. Lawsuits that we know will be dismissed. I just read in our code what we can and can’t do, undisputed. I just want to be on record that I really am getting a little tired of encouraging lawsuits.” 

The board was warned by the Republican State Attorney General’s office that their proposed rules go beyond their authority and, “will likely be subject to an easy legal challenge.” The AGs office wrote of the hand counting proposal: “These proposed rules are not tethered to any statute—and are, therefore, likely the precise type of impermissible legislation that agencies cannot do.” =

As the meeting continued, the board decided to wait to vote on at least one other rule until after the election. 

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