The Georgia State Election Board approved a new on rule on Friday, which will require all paper ballots to be counted by hand for the election in November.
The rule will require three poll officers to independently count each box of ballots. Any discrepancies found between the hand count and recorded totals are required to be documented and resolved by the poll manager. The purpose of the new rule is to “ensure the secure, transparent, and accurate counting of ballots by requiring a systematic process where ballots are independently hand-counted by three sworn poll officers”.
Until this rule was approved, less than .2% of registered voters in the US were subject to hand counting of ballots, most living in single-precinct municipalities. Hand counting ballots can be time consuming and expensive, according to Verified Voting. In 2021, Mesa County, Colorado hand counted ballots for the general election, paying approximately $80,000 for one week of work…