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A US judge in Georgia has halted a recent order that would have required all ballots in the upcoming presidential election to be counted by hand. Judge Robert McBurney ruled that poll workers would not be adequately trained to handle millions of ballots, stating that the sudden change could cause “administrative chaos.” The hand-counting rule was pushed by a pro-Trump majority on Georgia’s election board last month. However, Tuesday’s ruling was welcomed by Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris , whose campaign viewed the rule as an attempt to undermine the voting process. Early voting began in Georgia this week, with a record-breaking 328,000 people casting their ballots on the first day—more than double the previous record from 2020. In that election, Georgia saw around five million votes cast for president, with Joe Biden winning the state by a margin of just under 12,000 votes. The hand-count mandate would have required three poll workers at each of Georgia’s 6,500 precincts to manually count ballots that had already been scanned by machines. Critics argued that the process could lead to delays or manipulation of the state’s election results. Judge McBurney’s decision highlighted concerns that such a last-minute change would erode public confidence in the electoral system. He wrote, “Anything that adds uncertainty and disorder to the electoral process disserves the public,” especially given the tensions that remain since the January 6 Capitol attack. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump held a rally in Atlanta, urging supporters to secure a “victory too big to rig,” referring to his unproven claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Harris, on the same day, continued her campaign outreach to Black voters, urging them to stay engaged in the political process and welcoming the judge’s ruling as a safeguard for election integrity. (With inputs from BBC) None
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