US-VOTE-BALLOTS-GEORGIA

Lee County poll workers look for watermarks on voting paper during poll worker training in Leesburg, Georgia on October 2, 2024. With the US presidential vote only weeks away, the Georgia State Election Board, led by a pro-Trump majority, passed a controversial requirement in September that counties manually hand count their ballots, a move that has caused alarm in the closely watched swing state.pro-Trump election board, the move has caused alarm.Georgia officials from both sides of the aisle say the count is not only unnecessary -- machines already count the ballots -- but also a potential tool to sow doubt by slowing the process and creating a vehicle for conspiracy theories should discrepancies arise via error-prone human counting. (Photo by Becca MILFELD / AFP) (Photo by BECCA MILFELD/AFP via Getty Images)