The judge ruled the hand count rule was ’too much, too late’ given the proximity to the election, but could be used in the future.
A federal judge in Georgia temporarily halted a rule on Tuesday requiring election officials to hand count ballots in the 2024 elections, finding that it introduces uncertainty into the process.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled that pausing the new hand count rule was appropriate, given that the election is just weeks away.
“Anything that adds uncertainty and disorder to the electoral process disserves the public,” Judge McBurney said in his ruling, in which he described the election season as “fraught.”
“Because the Hand Count Rule is too much, too late, its enforcement is hereby enjoined while the Court considers the merits of Petitioner and Petitioner-Intervenors’ case,” the judge said.
However, the rule could potentially come into effect for future elections once the more than 150 local election boards have had time to prepare and train workers.
The lawsuit, filed by the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration, centered around six rules passed by the Georgia State Election Board on Sept. 20. The plaintiffs argue that the rules violate state election laws by adding unnecessary and burdensome requirements to the election process.
The plaintiffs deemed the hand count rule the “most disruptive” of the six, which include a poll watcher rule, daily reporting rule, reconciliation reports rule, reconciliation rule, and recorded count rule. The hand count rule would require election workers in each precinct to verify ballots by hand counting after polls close on Election Day.
The six rules were due to take effect on Oct. 22, which would be seven days after early voting began and 14 days before the election.
Hand Count Rule
Under the halted hand count rule, after polls close on Election Day, the poll manager and two poll officers of every precinct would have been expected to open the scanner ballot box and remove the paper ballots. Three poll officers were to then count the ballots independently, sorting them into stacks of 50. Under the rule, each poll officer must have arrived at the same final count. Once aligned, the poll workers sign a control document with key information, including the polling place and scanner serial number.
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