The Georgia election board’s recent decision to mandate hand-counting of ballots on Election Day adds to a growing pattern of efforts to undermine Black voters’ access to the polls, echoing similar voter suppression tactics seen across the country. This move — along with Florida’s arrests of Black ex-felons attempting to vote and the GOP push for partisan poll watchers — raises serious concerns about disenfranchisement and the integrity of the electoral process.
The latest efforts to suppress the Black vote
Georgia’s ruling requires local precincts to hand-count ballots alongside machine tabulation — a decision criticized for creating potential delays and confusion. U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA), who has long been an advocate for voting rights, warns this tactic is part of a broader strategy aimed at weakening the political power of Black voters.
“This is how voter suppression happens,” Warnock said.
This latest ruling parallels past voter suppression efforts, like Florida’s recent crackdown on Black ex-felons who were arrested for voting due to confusion over their eligibility.
These efforts align with the GOP’s increasing reliance on measures that disproportionately affect Black voters. Poll watchers, often deployed by Republican-led efforts, have become a controversial tool in recent elections, raising fears of voter intimidation in predominantly Black precincts. The push for more aggressive monitoring at polling stations adds another layer to an already fraught voting process, compounding the effects of restrictive voter ID laws and reduced access to early voting.
Hand-counting ruling and the impact on Black voters
Warnock has been vocal in opposing Georgia’s hand-counting rule, describing it as a deliberate attempt to “turn democracy on its head.”
The last-minute nature of the decision — less than 50 days before the election — adds to fears that it will disproportionately affect voters of color, who have historically faced the brunt of voter suppression efforts in Georgia. Delays and confusion on Election Day, Warnock argued during his appearance on MSNBCs “Inside with Jen Psaki,” may lead to a repeat of past voting controversies like the 2000 Florida election, where thousands of votes — many from Black communities — went uncounted due to bureaucratic errors.
Georgia’s role as a key swing state only heightens these concerns. The state has been a battleground in recent elections, with Black voters playing a decisive role in flipping it for Democrats in 2020. The hand-counting mandate could discourage voter participation, especially if it leads to delays in results or fosters mistrust in the system, echoing the impact of voter suppression laws that were rolled back under the Voting Rights Act’s weakened protections.
A nationwide strategy of disenfranchisement
Georgia’s ruling is not an isolated incident. In Florida, Black ex-felons have been targeted in a campaign of voter disenfranchisement, with authorities arresting individuals who attempted to vote, unaware of their ineligibility. These arrests, largely affecting Black citizens, are part of a broader effort by Republican lawmakers to crack down on voter participation in marginalized communities. Coupled with the nationwide push for voter ID laws, gerrymandering and reduced access to polling locations, the hand-counting rule in Georgia fits into a larger strategy to undermine the political influence of Black voters across the U.S.
Poll watchers, another GOP-backed measure, also play a role in this strategy. Ostensibly introduced to prevent voter fraud, these individuals — often stationed in Black precincts — have been accused of intimidation tactics that deter eligible voters from casting their ballots. Combined with the hand-counting mandate, such measures may lead to lower turnout in communities of color, jeopardizing the integrity of the upcoming election.
