GA Judge Blocks Mandate To Hand Count Ballots: Reports

GEORGIA — Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney on Tuesday ruled against a measure that would mandate statewide election workers to hand count ballots at their precincts on Election Day, according to media reports.

The ruling came on the day voters began heading to the polls for early voting in the 2024 general election.

In late September, the Georgia State Election Board approved the requirement to permit machine counting and hand counting of votes on Nov. 5; however, McBurney wrote in his opinion that the "11th-and-one-half hour implementation of the hand count rule" would curb the public's confidence, CBS News reported.

He added the board's order was "too much, too late," CBS News reported.

The election board is largely comprised of pro-Donald Trump allies, both Reuters and CBS News reported.

"This election season is fraught; memories of January 6 have not faded away, regardless of one's view of that date's fame or infamy. Anything that adds uncertainty and disorder to the electoral process disserves the public," McBurney wrote, per CBS News.

McBurney's ruling can be reversed in an appeals court, Reuters reported.

Read more via CBS News and Reuters.