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There’s no question that people have worn out the superlatives over the past few years, whether it’s slapping “breaking news” on stories that turn out to be anything but, or calling a political event or move “a big deal.” But it’s likely this story qualifies as a huge win for election integrity in the 2024 elections in November–especially since it concerns both the state of Georgia and Election Day.

via The Hill:

The Georgia Election Board ruled Friday that ballots must be hand-counted by local precincts despite concerns from election officials and opposition from some state officials. 

The Georgia Election Board ruled 3-2 to require ballots to be hand-counted — an added layer to the machine count that already takes place. The rule change comes less than 50 days before Election Day in a critical swing state.

The chairman of the panel, John Fervier, was joined by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr in expressing concerns over the ruling less than two months out from the elections:

There are several things that concern me about this. No. 1, I do think it’s too close to the election. I do.I think that it’s too late to train a lot of poll workers that have already started their training processes.

 The Hill added that Chairman Fervier continued, expressing doubts that Georgia has the “resources” to follow the rules:

Fervier also cited a lack of resources among the counties to properly carry out the rule change, and issues around chain of custody.

Raffensperger referenced state AG Carr’s warning about potential legal challenges, in his remarks:

Attorney General Chris Carr has stated that these rules would not withstand a legal challenge, and I have worked every day to strengthen Georgia’s election law to ensure our elections remain safe, secure, and free.

Georgia voters can be confident that the reforms we’ve enacted since 2020 and have defended in court from frivolous attacks by Stacy Abrams will ensure only American citizens vote in our elections. 

Our reforms have made Georgia elections the safest in the nation and I work every day to keep it that way.

If anything, a decision like this could only help to reassure voters in the Peach state–and nationwide–that the 2024 election is processed fairly. It’s crucial that every legal vote is counted in November. We’ll keep you posted on where things go from here on the legal front.

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