[ad_1]
ATLANTA (AP) – Georgia says it will count – by hand – nearly 5 million ballots that were cast in its tight presidential election on November 3. But is this a recount? An audit”? And why are they doing it?
It’s all a bit confusing, but election experts say what happens in Georgia is unlikely to change the outcome, and warn that discrepancies in the final vote count are likely. It does not mean that something bad has happened. Experts say some discrepancies are expected when so many votes are counted a second time using an entirely different method – hand versus machine.
While President Donald Trump has made unsubstantiated allegations of fraud while challenging the election result, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has defended the work of election officials in the state and said that the examination would probably not change the result. Unofficial results show Democrat Joe Biden leading Trump by around 14,000 votes.
Here are more:
IS THIS AN OFFICIAL ACCOUNT?
State election officials said it was not a recount, but rather a post-election audit.
The main difference between the two: a recount is usually tied to a tight margin in an election, while post-election audits are routine and used by states to ensure that the counting equipment and procedures of the vote function correctly.
In Georgia, for example, a recount is done using the same scanners that read and counted the unofficial results already released. And recounts in Georgia usually take place after election results are certified by the state. It hasn’t happened yet. Once the election is certified, a subsequent candidate may request a recount if the margin is less than 0.5 percentage point. Biden is currently leading by 0.28 percentage point, so Trump could always ask for a recount later.
WHAT IS GEORGIA DOING THEN?
The post-election audit is being conducted under a new state law that required such to be conducted for the first time this year on a race chosen by the secretary of state. Raffensperger said he chose the presidential contest given “the national importance of this race and the proximity of this race”.
The specific type of audit Georgia has chosen is called “risk mitigation”. This is to check paper ballots against automatic counts to ensure the accuracy of these machines. This year was the first time Georgia has used a fleet of ballot marking machines, which produce a paper record of every ballot in person.
Risk-limiting audits usually begin with an initial sample of ballots. This sample increases according to the level of discrepancies observed. This type of verification ends when election officials achieve a certain level of confidence that the result is correct or that a full count has been taken. It is not intended to produce results that exactly match a previous count.
But Georgia election officials said they would review each poll to begin with. They say it will be easier for county officials to manage because the large number of ballots and the narrow margin will likely result in a count of each ballot anyway.
WAS THIS DONE BY ALLEGATIONS OF FRAUD?
Raffensperger has repeatedly said his office saw no evidence of widespread fraud with the November 3 election. A senior official said on Thursday that the purpose of the audit was “to show that the equipment scanned the ballots correctly and that the counts we got were the correct counts.”
Still, it’s hard to ignore the high stakes surrounding the decision.
Prior to the announcement of the decision to conduct the audit, Trump allies in the state sent Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, a letter asking him to order a manual recount before certifying the results. State election officials said the decision to do the audit was being discussed ahead of the letter.
In addition, Raffensperger has faced calls for resignations from the two U.S. senators from Georgia, both Trump supporters facing a close election that could determine which party will control the U.S. Senate next year.
WHEN DOES IT START AND HOW LONG WILL WE KNOW THE RESULT?
Counties must begin the process no later than 9 a.m. on Friday, one week before the state’s deadline to certify the election.
The state is asking counties to complete the manual count by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. That’s a tight turnaround time. Representatives of each party will be allowed to watch the process, but they will not be allowed to challenge the ballots.
State election officials said they would not release a provisional tally and would announce the results once the manual tally is complete.
CAN VOTING TALLIES CHANGE?
Yes. Election experts and the Georgia Secretary of State’s office said the final vote tally would almost certainly be different from previously reported unofficial results. “The result will change slightly at the end, more than likely,” says Gabriel Sterling of the secretary’s office.
Manual counts are generally less reliable than automatic counts, according to Larry Norden, an election expert at the Brennan Center for Justice. “Humans make mistakes,” Norden says, adding that the margin between Biden and Trump meant the overall result was unlikely to change. “It’s extremely unlikely that you will find enough gaps to overcome 14,000 votes, and in the end, that’s what matters.”
State election officials said the results of the manual count would be used to ultimately certify the election.
___
Christina A. Cassidy covers voting and election security for the Associated Press. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/AP_Christina
[ad_2]
Source link