Georgia
Georgia's Republican-led election board OKs controversial rule to hand-count ballots
Georgia’s State Election Board members meet to discuss proposals for election rule changes at the state capitol in Atlanta Friday.
Mike Stewart/AP
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Mike Stewart/AP
ATLANTA — The Georgia State Election Board approved a controversial rule Friday requiring a hand count of the number of ballots cast on Election Day.
Republicans advanced the measure over the opposition of Georgia’s Republican secretary of state and attorney general and dozens of local election officials who said the last-minute change could cause delays and confusion on election night and the days that follow.
“If this board votes to implement this rule, I think that we put ourselves in legal jeopardy,” said John Fervier, the board’s nonpartisan chair, who voted against the proposal.
The board’s actions in recent weeks have put an added spotlight on election administration in Georgia, where former President Donald Trump and others advanced baseless claims of fraud following the 2020 election, and which is expected to again be a crucial swing state in the 2024 race.
The rule approved Friday mandates the poll manager and two poll officers in each precinct each count the number of paper ballots in each ballot box to compare with the total generated by the ballot scanner.
A number of local election officials testified against the hand counts, raising concerns that human error could easily result in discrepancies. While the rule is about counting ballots, not individual contests, as some conservatives have called for in recent years across the country, election experts agree that hand counts are far slower and less reliable than machine tabulation.
Election officials also warned that changing the rules this late in the voting season could cause confusion, with poll working training underway in many counties.
“Over 200 pages of election code and rules have been implemented since 2020,” testified Ethan Compton, the elections supervisor in Irwin County. “We have practiced on them, we have trained, we are prepared, we are ready. Do not change this at the last second.”
“We are verifying a set of numbers by using another means,” said Sharlene Alexander, a Republican member of the Fayette County Elections Board who co-sponsored the rule. “That’s all we’re doing.”
The change was backed by the three Republican members of the state board, who have already drawn scrutiny for advancing changes to how local election boards certify election results. Those rules are being challenged in the courts, with a trial scheduled for Oct. 1.
The office of Georgia’s attorney general advised against advancing the hand count rules.
“These proposed rules are not tethered to any statute — and are, therefore, likely the precise type of impermissible legislation that agencies cannot do,” Elizabeth Young, senior assistant attorney general, wrote in the letter to the board.
The board tabled a vote on another rule requiring a similar hand count of the number of ballots cast during advance voting. Janelle King, one of the Republican members, asked to revisit that proposal after the 2024 election.
The board is scheduled to vote on 11 total rule changes on Friday.
They were designed to hold a drink, but cups produced in Rome, Georgia, have become one of the FIFA Men’s World Cup’s most unexpected souvenirs.
Inside the Top Cup plant in Rome, millions of cups were created to celebrate the world’s biggest sporting event.
“We made 10 million over 70 different graphics for the World Cup,” said Rome native and Top Cup General Manager Zach Dixon.
The plant in north Georgia produces up to 750,000 cups a day.
“We’ve always been really proud of the cup … but the World Cup has obviously taken it to another level,” said Top Cup CEO David Cuthbert.
Fans have been taking them home from matches. Some have even been listed for sale online.
“We’ve always been really proud of the cup… but the World Cup has obviously taken it to another level,” said Cuthbert.
Dixon said they begin the process with massive coils of aluminum, each weighing about 30,000 pounds. The metal is stamped, stretched, washed, and moved down the line.
The plant produces about 1,100 cups every minute.
Ricardo Marques, the senior vice president of marketing for Michelob ULTRA, said that there have been venue-specific, match-specific, and Finals-specific stadium cups for the World Cup. There are also three separate red, white, and blue designs available for fans at bars and restaurants around the U.S.
“We’ve seen an incredible response to the collection. Together, these commemorative cups give fans a unique keepsake and a lasting reminder of an unforgettable FIFA World Cup experience and the moments that brought millions of people together through the world’s game,” Marques said.
Cuthbert said his company has seen how the World Cup has done wonders for metro Atlanta businesses.
“Our team in Rome, Georgia takes tremendous pride in helping bring this fan experience to life for one of the world’s biggest sporting events,” he said.
So when soccer fans celebrate the surprise victory or mourn their last-minute loss, they’re doing so with a little piece of Georgia.
Athlon Sports projected the best SEC games for each week of the 2026 regular season.
The conference features some of the most compelling matchups in all of college football, from opening weekend through rivalry week. The selections emphasize games anticipated to have the biggest impact on the SEC championship race and College Football Playoff picture.
Florida’s annual clash with Georgia was tabbed as one of the SEC’s premier fixtures. The game has grown in national significance since it began in 1904, continuing as a battle of blue-blood programs that routinely produces iconic results. The game temporarily moves to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta during the Jacksonville stadium renovations.
The Jon Sumrall era carries with it an increasing sense of belief — many experts see the Gators as a dark-horse CFB playoff contender. Regardless of its final win-loss record, UF will play a part in shaping the season’s narrative as they face several post-season favorites in Texas, Georgia and Oklahoma.
Noted in the article is the SEC’s depth and newly implemented nine-game conference schedule. Georgia, Texas, Alabama and LSU appear multiple times on this list, with Georgia facing Alabama in Week 6 and Ole Miss in Week 10 while LSU hosts Clemson in Week 1 and will see Texas in Week 11 take on Alabama.
Many contenders from the SEC face multiple nationally relevant foes over the course of the season.
Athlon Sports’ Best game for every week of the 2026 season
- Week 1: Clemson at LSU (Sept. 5)
- Week 2: Ohio State at Texas (Sept. 12)
- Week 3: LSU at Ole Miss (Sept. 19)
- Week 4: Oklahoma at Georgia (Sept. 26)
- Week 5: Auburn at Tennessee (Oct. 3)
- Week 6: Georgia at Alabama (Oct. 10)
- Week 7: Alabama at Tennessee (Oct. 17)
- Week 8: Ole Miss at Texas (Oct. 24)
- Week 9: Florida vs. Georgia (Atlanta) (Oct. 31)
- Week 10: Georgia at Ole Miss (Nov. 7)
- Week 11: Texas at LSU (Nov. 14)
- Week 12: Texas A&M at Oklahoma (Nov. 21)
- Week 13: Texas at Texas A&M (Friday) (Nov. 27)
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