The Georgia Election Board has voted 3-2 in favor of a brand new rule mandating that election staff examine the full variety of ballots solid with the full variety of distinctive voter ID numbers within the system.
This rule goals to make sure that each vote solid within the state is reliable and that any discrepancies are completely investigated earlier than election outcomes may be licensed.
The brand new rule, reported by former RNC official and Trump’s spokeswoman Liz Harrington, is ready to overtake how precincts deal with election returns.
Beneath the rule, if discrepancies are present in any precinct—the place the variety of ballots exceeds the variety of distinctive voter IDs—the counties are required to withhold certification of the election outcomes till the suspected fraud is totally investigated and resolved.
In line with the newly authorized regulation, the Georgia Election Board members are tasked with scrutinizing the voting knowledge in every precinct. Particularly, the rule stipulates:
Tabulating Outcomes: After every election, however no later than 3 PM on the Friday following the election, the Election Board should conduct a assessment of precinct returns. This contains tabulating all absentee ballots, advance voting, Election Day in-person voting, and provisional ballots. The full variety of distinctive voter IDs will then be in contrast with the full ballots solid in every precinct.
Investigating Discrepancies: In cases the place the variety of ballots solid surpasses the variety of distinctive voter IDs, the Board is required to find out which voting technique the discrepancy originated from and conduct an intensive investigation. Votes from the affected precinct is not going to be counted till the investigation is accomplished and the outcomes are introduced to the Board, as mandated by GA Code § 21-2-493(b).
Certification of Outcomes: As soon as all precinct discrepancies have been investigated and corrected, the correct returns will probably be recorded and verified. Solely then will the consolidated returns be licensed by the superintendent, with the certification deadline set at 5:00 PM on the Monday following the election. The licensed returns should then be instantly transmitted to the Secretary of State.
The rule additionally empowers Board members to look at all election-related documentation earlier than certifying the outcomes, making certain that any potential fraud is detected and addressed earlier than the election outcomes turn into official. If fraud is found, the Board is obligated to compute the votes justly and report the details to the district legal professional for additional motion.
By way of Liz Harrington:
Nice information!
Georgia State Election Board votes 3-2 to approve new rule reconciling the full variety of votes with the full variety of voters
If discrepancies are discovered, they have to be investigated and resolved earlier than certifying pic.twitter.com/WOJUbqfg7j
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) August 19, 2024