In a recent ruling, an Atlanta judge has halted the implementation of a new Georgia election rule requiring hand counts of all ballots in this election cycle.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney expressed concerns about the potential chaos this rule could create, particularly in light of the January 6 Capitol riot, which left many voters uneasy about election integrity. He remarked, “This election season is fraught; memories of January 6 have not faded away,” emphasizing that introducing uncertainty into the process does not benefit the public.
The Republican-led State Election Board (SEB) had previously voted to enforce a hand counting protocol, aimed at verifying machine counts by requiring three poll workers to count each ballot after polls close. However, McBurney described this approach as “too much, too late,” citing the lack of training for over 7,500 poll workers, which could lead to complications on election day.
Megan Varner/Getty Images
While the judge acknowledged that the principle behind the rule was sound, he argued that its late introduction could increase public anxiety rather than alleviate it. He suggested that such a rule might work for future elections, provided there was adequate preparation and training in place.
As early voting kicked off in Georgia, Secretary of State’s office representative Gabe Sterling shared on X (formerly Twitter) that over 328,000 ballots were cast on the first day, surpassing the previous record of 136,000 set in 2020. This year, registered voters can use any early voting site within their counties until the last Friday before Election Day, with extended hours and weekend voting options available.