ga_girl
ga_girl's JournalGeorgia new counting rule
https://sos.ga.gov/sites/default/files/2024-08/seb-notice_of_proposed_rulemaking_183_1_12_.12a5_hand_count.pdf***********************************
My Comments
This new rule will do nothing but slow down election night processing. To take a manager and two other poll workers out of the evening closing tasks will impact the work schedule. Also, I believe that no precinct staff (mgr and two others) will want to count the ballots the next day at election headquarters.
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Highlighting done by poster
Rule 183-1-12-.12(a)(5)
5. The poll manager and two witnesses who have been sworn as poll officers as provided in
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-94 and 21-2-95 shall unseal and open each scanner ballot box, remove the
paper ballots from each ballot box, record the date and time that the ballot box was emptied and
present to three sworn precinct poll officers to independently count the total number of ballots
removed from the scanner, sorting into stacks of 50 ballots, continuing until all of the ballots
have been counted separately by each of the three poll officers. When all three poll officers
arrive at the same total ballot count independently, they shall each sign a control document
containing the polling place, ballot scanner serial number, election name, printed name with
signature and date and time of the ballot hand count. If the numbers recorded on the precinct poll
pads, ballot marking devices [BMDs] and scanner recap forms do not reconcile with the hand
count ballot totals, the poll manager shall immediately determine the reason for the
inconsistency; correct the inconsistency, if possible; and fully document the inconsistency or
problem along with any corrective measures taken. A separate container shall be used for the
hand counted paper ballots from each ballot box and the container shall be labelled with the
polling place, ballot scanner serial number, the number assigned to the ballot scanner for that
election, the scanner counts of the ballots from the tabulation tape, and the hand count ballot total
as certified by the three poll officials. The container shall be sealed and signed by the poll
manager and two of the three hand count poll officers such that it cannot be opened without
breaking the seal. The poll manager and two witnesses shall sign a label affixed to the container
indicating that it contains all the hand counted ballots from the indicated scanner box and no
additional ballots.
a. The decision about when to start the process described in this rule is up to the Poll
Manager or Assistant Poll Manager. This decision can be made at the end of Election
Day, or if a scanner possesses more than 750 ballots on Election Day, the Poll
Manager can choose to start the next day and finish during the week designated for
county certification. This decision should take into account factors such as staffing
requirements, fatigue, and concerns about efficiency and accuracy.
b. If the ballot counting is to take place after Election Day, the relevant ballots,
tabulation tapes, enumerated voter lists, and polling information shall be sealed in a
tamper-proof container and the number of the seal noted. The counting shall occur in
the County election office on the next business day following Election Day and must
conclude prior to any scheduled or announced post-election audits. The process must
be completed within the designated county certification period.
c. Counting will take place as mentioned in this rule. The process of opening, counting,
and resealing ballots must be conducted in the presence of the relevant poll manager
or assistant poll manager. These procedures must be conducted publicly to ensure
transparency.
d. If the counting of ballots takes place at any time or place other than the polling
location, the supervisor of elections must immediately communicate the date, time,
and place of such action with all candidates on the ballot and the county chair of both
major political parties no later than 10:00 pm on Election Day. The poll manager
shall post such information on the outside windows of the polling location together
with all other information required to be so posted.
Authority: O.C.G.A. §§ 21-2-483(a), 21-2-436, 21-2-420(a)
Strange restriction on Advanced In Person voting for the Georgia Senate runoff
https://www.ajc.com/politics/georgia-holidays-prevent-saturday-voting-before-us-senate-runoff/Q7WG5X7T55AIJEJYLEOJ6JLQ6M/Can't have Saturday advanced voting within two days of a holiday - in this case what used to be called Robert E Lee's birthday, now just called a state holiday.
YeeHaw - the South will rise again! (just kidding, sarcasm, shaking my head in disgust)
Apparent fake ballot found in Georgia
Source: WSB TV
SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. — State election officials say a possibly fake ballot was discovered at an early voting location in Spalding County Wednesday morning, officials confirmed to Channel 2 Action News.
A full-scale investigation is now underway about who created it and why.
...
“They identified one ballot that looked visibly different than the rest of the ballots and that appears to be a fake ballot,” Evans said. “They alerted us and we have opened and are conducting an investigation into the matter.”
...
The Spalding scanner showed 1,521 ballots had been entered into the system, but Spalding election officials showed only 1,520 voters checked in.
Read more: https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/ga-election-officials-investigating-after-suspected-fake-ballot-discovered-early-voting-location/BSOEOTUZGRAHHMO3JUKFWGXC5Y/
Attempting to sow discord about election integrity?
Activist charged in Jan. 6 attack is among Herschel Walker's campaign 'captains'
https://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/activist-charged-in-jan-6-attack-is-among-herschel-walkers-campaign-captains/4CJACDUZ5JADFPFTPQL6FDMNIM/Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Herschel Walker’s campaign recently listed a woman who was arrested in March on charges of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol as one of his “county captains.”
The former football star’s campaign included Mandy Robinson-Hand in an August press release that named dozens of other grassroots supporters. Robinson-Hand, the chairwoman of Taylor County’s GOP, was listed as a campaign “captain” for the rural Middle Georgia county.
Robinson-Hand and her husband, Charles Hand III, were arrested about 14 months after supporters of then-President Donald Trump staged the insurrection at the Capitol. They are scheduled for a status conference in federal court next month in Washington.
Somebody blew up part of the Georgia Guidestones
https://twitter.com/DrPeoplekind/status/1544731765012500481Absentee ballot rejections declined after Georgia installed drop boxes
Source: Atlanta Journal and Constitution
Fewer Georgia voters returned their absentee ballots too late in last year’s presidential election, when many of them used drop boxes to avoid the risk of slow mail delivery.
Ballot drop boxes won’t be available for last-minute voting in future elections. Georgia’s new voting law limits drop boxes to early voting locations that close the Friday before election day.
Election data obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows that ballot rejections plummeted as a record number of voters, over 1.3 million, cast absentee ballots. The figures were provided by the secretary of state’s office in response to a request under the Open Records Act.
..
The introduction of ballot drop boxes during the coronavirus pandemic partially explains why election officials discarded absentee ballots less often than in the past. Drop boxes were available until polls closed on Election Day, and ballots delivered afterward by the U.S. Postal Service were rejected.
Read more: https://www.ajc.com/politics/absentee-ballot-rejections-declined-after-georgia-installed-drop-boxes/PCWPFF5HEJE5HDG3IE642BO55Y/
Looks to me that the drop boxes served a good purpose. Of course that means that the (R)s are limiting them in the future.
Question submitted by ga_girl
PSA - Another Kidde fire extinguisher recall
37 million fire extinguishers manufactured since 1973. Includes models recalled in 2009 and 2015.
https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2018/Kidde-Recalls-Fire-Extinguishers-with-Plastic%20Handles-Due-to-Failure-to-Discharge-and-Nozzle-Detachment-One-Death-Reported
Go to Kidde.com, select the product recall section and search for your model / date manufactured / serial number. Fill out the appropriate forms and wait.
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Member since: Tue Aug 27, 2013, 09:47 AMNumber of posts: 198