\n<\/p>\n
With fewer than 50 days until November 5, allies of\u00a0Donald Trump<\/strong>\u00a0serving on the election board in Georgia\u00a0voted<\/a>\u00a0for a rule that could gum up the democratic process in a key swing state\u2014requiring counties to hand-count ballots. \u201cBeyond violating settled law, this change reeks of an attempt to undermine Georgia\u2019s ability to conduct free, fair, and accurate elections,\u201d\u00a0Justin Berger<\/strong>, election law counsel at the nonprofit Informing Democracy, said in a statement Friday, warning that the requirement would \u201cincrease the opportunity for human error and confusion, be difficult, costly, delay the process, and risk ballot security itself.\u201d<\/p>\n Some Republicans have even spoken out against the move, with Georgia Attorney General\u00a0Chris Carr<\/strong>\u00a0arguing that the board is \u201cintruding\u201d on the general assembly\u2019s authority. Georgia Secretary of State\u00a0Brad Raffensperger<\/strong>\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0CNN on Thursday that the election was \u201ctoo close\u201d for a rule change. \u201cIt\u2019s just too late in the cycle,\u201d said Raffensperger, who refused Trump\u2019s demand to \u201cfind\u201d enough votes to defeat\u00a0Joe Biden<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Of course, Trump\u2019s efforts to overturn the 2020 results failed, partly because enough Republicans like Raffensperger wouldn\u2019t go along. But attacks on the system have grown more coordinated since, as I\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0Thursday, with election deniers seeking more control over the democratic process\u2014sparking concerns that MAGA Republicans could seek to undermine the system from within.<\/p>\n In Georgia, which was crucial to Biden\u2019s victory in 2020 and is sure to prove consequential again in November, those fears escalated earlier this year when Trump allies\u00a0Janice Johnston<\/strong>,\u00a0Rick Jafferes<\/strong>, and\u00a0Janelle King<\/strong>\u00a0took control of the state election board\u2014earning praise from Trump at an August rally in Atlanta. \u201cThey\u2019re doing a great job,\u201d Trump\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0supporters, describing the three as \u201cpit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency, and victory.\u201d<\/p>\n But the vote isn\u2019t about making elections \u201cbetter,\u201d as King claimed Friday; for all Trump\u2019s lies about election fraud, the process is already secure, as experts and officials have emphasized. What the last-minute rule change could do instead\u2014if allowed to stand\u2014could be to make it easier for Trump to contest the results and undermine faith in the process. The board is \u201ctrying to subvert safe and secure election processes based on conspiracies,\u201d Colorado Secretary of State\u00a0Jena Griswold<\/strong>, chair of the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State,\u00a0wrote<\/a>\u00a0Friday. \u201cHand counting is slower, costlier, and more prone to error. This change is meant to sow doubt about the election, plain and simple.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n