'Incredibly disappointed': Ex-GA leaders blast Trump-backed board's election rule change

A bipartisan group of former government officials in Georgia condemned the state's Trump-backed election board's new mandate that ballots be hand-counted.

The board voted 3-2 to require that county election boards count ballots by hand and compare their results to electronic voting machine tallies. Critics argued Friday the change was designed to deliver the state to former President Donald Trump on Nov. 5.

On Friday evening, four former elected government leaders — including two former governors — blasted the board's decision in a statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"We are incredibly disappointed that members of the State Election Board, who are not elected and lack the authority to pass legislation, decided to put personal politics ahead of principled leadership," the statement said.

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The co-signers: former Govs. Nathan Deal (R) and Roy Barnes (D), as well as former Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R) and former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin.

The group said no matter who is in power or who appears on the ballot, election-related rules "should be made in advance and in direct coordination with the local officials who administer our elections."

"There is no doubt that these new directives will generate delays on Election Day, spur baseless conspiracy theories, and attract a litany of lawsuits," the group said. "Even worse, this decision will threaten citizen engagement by undermining confidence in our Democratic process."