Bibb County begins recounting 71,000+ ballots cast in presidential election by hand
Macon-Bibb County Board of Election officials started counting ballots for the November presidential election Friday for the by-hand recount required by the Georgia Secretary of State.
Bibb County voters cast more than 71,000 ballots in the presidential election meaning poll workers will have to count around 12,000 ballots per day to meet the Wednesday deadline, said Mike Kaplan, chairman of the Bibb Board of Elections.
“As you can see, we are very busy here,” he said. “Depending on how far we get tomorrow will depend on whether or not we have to count on Sunday. We have until Wednesday, and we’re going just as hard as we can.”
Audit required by law
The recount was included as part of the state’s audit process, which has to be conducted under Georgia law. The audit process only requires a by-hand inspection of random samples of official ballots and uses statistical sampling techniques to confirm the results of the election, but in this situation, it will serve as a full recount to ensure the validity of an election with a narrow margin between the two main candidates.
At the start of the recount, President-elect Joe Biden had a lead of more than 14,000 votes over President Donald Trump.
The ballots are divided into batches of 50 which are individually given to a team of two poll workers, who sort them based on the candidate that received the vote.
The poll workers then count how many ballots each candidate received in that batch, and the votes get tallied in the state’s computer system. Bibb County is also writing the tally down as they go to ensure accuracy. After the votes are counted, the ballots are returned to a secure ballot box.
Cost of counting
Bibb County had 14 auditors counting ballots Friday afternoon, and Kaplan said the election board is going to try to keep around that many people counting throughout the six days.
Paying the poll workers to recount the ballots, Kaplan said, will cost around $2,500 per day, but Kaplan said the Board of Elections received a $577,000 grant from the Center of Technology and Civic Life to help pay expenses during this election cycle.
One monitor from each political party is allowed to observe the process per 10 teams of auditors. Bibb County allowed two monitors from each political party to cross the barrier to view the process up close, but other observers have to remain behind a barrier that is six feet away from the auditors’ stations.
The monitors also help make the final decision of a ballot if the desire of the voter is unclear. For example, if a voter marked both Biden and Trump on their ballot, that vote has to be adjudicated.
Poll watchers
The Telegraph could not find a Democrat monitor, but the Republican Party had around seven people at the election board who would alternate when someone needed a break.
One of those monitors was Diane Vann, who has run in two U.S House races in Georgia and wrote the book “Undermining the U.S. Constitution.”
“There’s quite a bit of love that I have for the Constitution of the United States of America, and in order for it to be upheld and be viable and for our states to remain united, we have to follow it. Following it means we get fair elections,” Vann said.
The Secretary of State also sent a person to the Bibb Board of Elections to help facilitate the process. A representative from the Carter Center, a nonpartisan organization that works to improve democracy, was observing as well.
Kaplan said they planned to work until 9 p.m. Friday and start at 9 a.m. Saturday. Workers started with absentee ballots, and then will count early voting and Election Day ballots, respectively.
“If there’s doubt in our system, if you don’t believe in it, there’s a lot of anarchy,” Kaplan said. “We have to have proof it’s a safe and effective way of voting and I hope, I hope this comes out right for the sake of our country.”