Raffensperger blasts proposed rule requiring hand count of ballots at Georgia polling places

Brad Raffensperger wears a blue lanyard while attending the National Association of Secretaries of State winter meeting in 2023.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger attends the National Association of Secretaries of State winter meeting, Feb. 16, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Georgia’s secretary of state on Thursday came out against election rule changes pending before the State Election Board, specifically rejecting a proposal to count ballots by hand at polling places on election night.

At a meeting in July, the board advanced a proposal that would require three separate poll workers to count ballots at voting precincts on election night to make sure they match the number of ballots recorded by voting machines. That proposal has been posted for public comment and the board is set to vote Monday whether to adopt it.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the state’s top elections official, called that effort “misguided,” saying it would delay the reporting of election results and introduce risks to chain of custody procedures.