A judge voiced skepticism Tuesday of a last-minute requirement for a hand count of the number of ballots on election night, suggesting it might be better to ensure “nonchaotic, stable, predictable, fair and transparent” elections.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said he would soon rule on a lawsuit by Cobb County’s election board seeking to stop the hand-count requirement the Republican-controlled State Election Board approved last month. The manual review would count ballots but not votes.
“This seems to me like it’s late in the game,” McBurney said, noting in-person early voting started Tuesday. “If the goal is orderly, reliable elections, why wouldn’t the prudent approach be to say, ‘Let’s try this next election?’”
Opponents of the hand-counting requirement said it would introduce delays in reporting results to an eager voting public, and they worried that poll workers haven’t been trained in this new process.
But members of the State Election Board who backed the rule said it would ensure all ballots are accounted for, helping to ensure accuracy for audits and recounts. At times, election workers have left ballots behind and the rule would help prevent that from happening again, they said.