Vote counting in Georgia begins and ends at the county level. Each of Georgia’s 159 counties has a local elections office, often led by an appointed election supervisor or election board, responsible for conducting the election process—from checking in voters to counting ballots. This includes certification, a step legally mandated to meet state deadlines. Recent court rulings have affirmed that county boards must certify their results by state deadlines to avoid election delays or legal violations .

Elections 101: Who Counts The Votes?

October 30, 2024
2 mins read

In Georgia, as across the country, a combination of county election officials, trained poll workers, and state oversight ensures transparency and accuracy in the vote-counting process. Here’s a closer look at the people and systems in place to ensure each vote is counted fairly and securely.

County Election Officials Lead the Charge

Vote counting in Georgia begins and ends at the county level. Each of Georgia’s 159 counties has a local elections office, often led by an appointed election supervisor or election board, responsible for conducting the election process—from checking in voters to counting ballots. This includes certification, a step legally mandated to meet state deadlines. Recent court rulings have affirmed that county boards must certify their results by state deadlines to avoid election delays or legal violations .

On Election Day and during early voting periods, county teams handle polling place management, voter ID verification, ballot distribution, and secure voting equipment usage. Once polls close, county election offices begin counting votes submitted in person, by mail, or absentee, following security protocols, such as working in bipartisan teams to ensure accountability.

Poll Workers and Election Volunteers

Poll workers are crucial to the voting process. Trained by county election officials, they manage polling sites, assist voters, and resolve any technical issues with voting machines. While poll workers handle procedural tasks, Georgia law limits their authority, restricting them from making decisions about which ballots count. This helps ensure all duties are carried out according to state guidelines and instructions from county boards of registrars.

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Poll workers include a mix of community volunteers, paid workers, and civic-minded residents. Their training covers security protocols, voter assistance, and managing disruptions. After polls close, poll workers, in teams, transport sealed ballot boxes to central counting facilities, ensuring secure transit under supervision.

Once out of the hands of volunteer poll workers, County elections officials and staffers begin the process of counting the votes.

The State’s Role: Oversight and Certification

While the Georgia Secretary of State’s office does not directly count votes, it plays a critical role in oversight, monitoring reports from each county, and certifying final results. The Secretary of State’s office also conducts post-election audits to verify accuracy, including a risk-limiting audit of a statistically significant sample of ballots, ensuring that the voting equipment operated accurately and that results match the paper trail.

Vote Counting Technology and Audits

Georgia uses electronic voting machines that produce a paper record, creating a physical trail for every ballot. Once polls close, these records are compared to digital tallies for a system of checks and balances. The state requires a “risk-limiting audit” following each election, where a random sample of paper ballots is manually counted and checked against digital records to confirm accuracy. This audit is public, allowing for bipartisan and independent observers to monitor the process for transparency.

Election Observers and Transparency

Observers from political parties and nonpartisan organizations monitor the voting and counting processes to provide transparency. In Georgia, observers are permitted at polling sites and central counting facilities but are prohibited from interfering with the process. Their presence, especially around provisional ballots, overseas ballots, and late-arriving mail-in ballots, ensures fair practices throughout.


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