USA US election: Controversial hand count decided in Georgia

The election commission in the US state of Georgia has decided on a controversial hand count of votes cast at polling stations for the 2024 presidential election in November - despite objections from election officials and election workers. Allies of former US President Donald Trump had pushed through this rule in the commission, wrote US broadcaster CNN. Critics fear, among other things, chaos on election day and a delayed announcement of the result in this hotly contested state between Republicans and Democrats, as the broadcaster CBS reported. The vote in the commission was by three votes to two.

Georgia is one of the so-called swing states in which the result between Republicans and Democrats can be particularly close. After losing the 2020 election, Trump had already questioned the count in Georgia and spoke of election fraud, among other things. According to CBS, Democrats fear that Republicans close to Trump could now prepare the ground for a new attempt to challenge the election result if Trump loses by a narrow margin again. On November 5, the 78-year-old Republican will run against Democrat Kamala Harris.

SDA