GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Some Georgia election officials are now navigating a new rule requiring poll workers to hand count ballots before the results are released.
With an unpredictable and volatile presidential race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the 2024 ticket, it’s a contentious election – before, and possibly after the votes are cast.
Now, counties are bracing to follow a new state election board rule requiring three election workers in each precinct to count the total number of ballots printed out on Election Day.
"I call it the 'poll workers cruelty rule.' It's just going to make a bunch of longer nights for our poll officials to have to stay there," said Zack Manifold, Gwinnett County's elections director.
RELATED: Georgia State Election Board passes several rules, including one on hand-counts of vote totals
The new rule does not require poll workers to actually count the votes. Machines will still do that. Three poll workers will merely count the number of paper ballots cast via Dominion's ballot-marking devices. And then afterward, officials will examine the numbers to see if the hand count of the paper matches the computerized count of the vote totals.
"They’re not counting the actual races. They’re just hand counting sheets of paper and I just don’t see a lot of value there," Manifold said.
A Trump friendly majority of the election board enacted the rule, members said, to add a layer of accountability.
"What I don't want to do is set a precedent that we are OK with speed over accuracy," said board member Janelle King, who has appeared onstage with Trump.
Unless a court intervenes, Gwinnett County poll manager Francine Gadson said she’ll make the new rule work.
"I think the numbers will match. I think the issue will be the length of time it takes to actually count those ballots," she said.
And that, she said, will add at least a couple of hours to election night for her poll workers.