Group of Georgia election officials asks State Election Board to stop changing rules before election

The Georgia Association of Voter Registration and Election Officials is formally asking the State Election Board to stop making changes to voter rules with just over two months before the November election.

According to a letter from GAVREO shared with Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Justin Gray, election officials are asking for the board to stop adding new election rules before the presidential race in order to prevent potential disruptions to election preparation and training processes that are already in motion for poll workers, absentee voting process, early voting and overall preparation for the 2024 presidential election.

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“We are already in the midst of extensive training preparation for our poll workers and preparing for one of the biggest and most scrutinized elections in years,” W. Travis Doss, Jr., President of GAVREO said in a statement. “Any last-minute changes to the rules risk undermining the public’s trust in the electoral process and place undue pressure on the individuals responsible for managing the polls and administering the election. This could ultimately lead to errors or delays in voting, which is the last thing anyone wants.”

The request state election officials came the same day Channel 2 Action News spoke to former Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal , who shared concerns of his regarding recent actions by the State Election Board.

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The former state leader’s worry was that the changes the board is trying to implement could cause concerns over the coming election’s integrity.

“My concern is that any type of radical change of any sort this late in the election process has the potential of causing distrust on the part of the public,” Governor Deal said. He also said he’s worried about the impact that last-minute changes will have on voter confidence in the state’s elections.

The changes at issue are a series of recent rule changes that critics of the State Election Board’s more right-wing members say overstep their legal authority, including a rule which would require election boards to have a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying election results.

Another rule would make it so ballots have to be hand-counted at polling locations.

Election Board member Janelle King, one of the members who has pushed for these new rules, said they are not meant to be partisan.

“I’m not looking at partisanship at all. These rules will be in place no matter who is in power in this state. So, I’m looking at whether or not these rules are beneficial for securing our elections,” King told Gray on Tuesday.

It’s a critique that isn’t exclusive to the former governor.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has also recently come out strongly against recent efforts by the board’s members.

Last week, Raffensperger said the new election rules were “misguided” and that it would delay reporting election results and add additional risks to the state’s chain of custody process for ballots.

“Activists seeking to impose last-minute changes in election procedures outside of the legislative process undermine voter confidence and burden election workers,” Raffensperger said in a news release.

The next day, Aug. 16, while sitting with Channel 2 Action News at the state Capitol, Raffensperger said the new rules may even be illegal, and that in his opinion, the election board does not have the authority to make some of the decisions it’s making.

“What they’re doing, having multiple people touching those ballots with the hand counting of ballots is going to take time and really decreases ballot security. Voters should be concerned about this,” Raffensperger said.

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