The Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration (BOER) issued the following statement regarding a Fulton County judge’s ruling suspending the State Election Board’s controversial Hand Count Rule.

The rule required that all ballots in elections be hand-counted before an election is certified.

The rule was one of several passed by the SEB that prompted the Georgia Attorney General and the Georgia Secretary of State to question the legality of the new rules.

Here is the statement, as posted on the Cobb County website:

The Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration (BOER) appreciates Tuesday’s ruling issued by a Fulton County Superior Court Judge, temporarily suspending the Hand Count Rule.

 On October 15, 2024, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney entered an order enjoining the Hand Count Rule, which was adopted by the Georgia State Election Board (SEB), less than two months prior to the November election.  This rule would have required poll workers to hand count ballots (note votes) in Cobb County’s 148 precincts on Election Night following the closing of the polls.   

In his order, Judge McBurney cited the limited time to train workers on the procedure and noted, “Anything that adds uncertainty and disorder to the electoral process disserves the public.”  

 The order was granted following the Cobb BOER’s filing on October 2nd seeking clarity over the SEB rules and a temporary restraining order to delay county election officials’ obligation to comply with the Rule given the quickly approaching election.   The order enjoins the enforcement of the Hand Count Rule while the Court determines the merits of the claims in the case.  Both the Georgia Attorney General’s Office and the Secretary of State have expressed doubts about the validity of the Hand Count Rule and several other rules recently adopted by the SEB, leading Cobb BOER to seek clarity from the Court about the enforceability of those rules.  

“Given that early voting has already begun for this election, the Cobb BOER greatly appreciates the Court’s thoughtful and expedient consideration of this matter,” says Tori Silas, Cobb BOER Chairwoman.  “The Cobb BOER’s central mission is to ensure that elections are conducted honestly, efficiently, and uniformly, and yesterday’s ruling was in support of us accomplishing that mission.”

About the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration

On its web page, the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration describes its mission as follows:

“The mission of the Elections Department is to register citizens of Cobb County to vote; to ensure that elections are free, impartial, fair, accurate, convenient and accessible to all voters; to encourage voter participation; to provide excellent customer service to voters, candidates, and the media; and to help the public understand and follow all laws, rules and regulations.

“The Elections Department, with oversight from the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration, enforces strict adherence to all current Federal, State and Local laws as well as to State Election Board Rules concerning registering to vote and voting, and serves all citizens in election related matters.”

The board has five members, with two appointed by the state legislative delegation, one each appointed by the Cobb Democratic and Republican parties, and one appointed by the Chairwoman of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners.

Since both the majority of the  legislative delegation and the BOC chairwomanship  is Democratic at this time, appointments by Democrats account for four of the five seats.

Here is the current composition of the board: