Star Tribune
Georgia State Election Board approves rule requiring hand count of ballots
ATLANTA — Georgia’s State Election Board on Friday voted to approve a new rule that requires poll workers to count the number of paper ballots by hand after voting is completed.
The board approved the rule, going against the advice of the state attorney general’s office, the secretary of state’s office and an association of county election officials. Three board members who were praised by former President Donald Trump during a rally last month in Atlanta voted to approve the measure, while the lone Democrat on the board and the nonpartisan chair voted to reject it.
In a memo sent to election board members Thursday, the office of state Attorney General Chris Carr said no provision in state law allows counting the number of ballots by hand at the precinct level before the ballots are brought to county election superintendent for vote tallying. As a result, the memo says, the rule is ”not tethered to any statute” and is ”likely the precise kind of impermissible legislation that agencies cannot do.”
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger last month called the hand counting rule ”misguided,” saying it would delay the reporting of election results and introduce risks to chain of custody procedures.
The new rule requires that the number of paper ballots — not the number of votes — be counted at each polling place by three separate poll workers until all three counts are the same. If a scanner has more than 750 ballots inside at the end of voting, the poll manager can decide to begin the count the following day.
Voters in Georgia make their selections on a touchscreen voting machine that then prints out a paper ballot that includes a human-readable list of the voter’s choices as well as a QR code that is read by a scanner to tally the votes.
The proponents of the new rule said it is needed to make sure that the number of ballots in the scanners at the end of the day matches the number of voters recorded by check-in computers and the number of ballots recorded by the voting machines and the scanners. Memory cards that record the votes at the polling places are what is used to tally votes on election night.
Several county election officials who spoke out against the rule during a public comment period preceding the vote warned that having to count the ballots by hand at polling places could delay the reporting of election night results. They also worried about putting an additional burden on poll workers who have already worked a long day.
”This senseless act of violence has touched each of us, whether directly or indirectly,” he said at the school’s homecoming convocation Sunday morning.
A pastor who leads the Tuskegee National Alumni Association told those at Sunday’s convocation service that the shooting is a reminder of the fragility of life.
”It is in moments like these that we need to be reminded not to stand on our own understanding because in a moment like this, I don’t have understanding,” said the Rev. James Quincy III.
”I can only rely on my faith, and my prayer for our entire family, this community, as we close out this marvelous family reunion that we shared this week,” Quincy said, “and most importantly because of that faith walk and that trust in God, that we have resilience, resilience in the time of trouble.”
Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama — the school’s opponent for Tuskegee’s homecoming football game on Saturday — released a statement expressing sympathy.
”Today, our hearts are with the Tuskegee family as they face the tragic aftermath of the recent shooting on campus,” the college said. ”We extend our deepest condolences to those impacted and pray for healing and justice. Miles College stands with you in this difficult time.”
Star Tribune
Billie Eilish visits vintage store in former Minneapolis White Castle ahead of Xcel Energy Center shows
Pop star Billie Eilish stopped at VINTAGE, a south Minneapolis vintage store located in a historic former White Castle, on Saturday, the store’s owner confirmed.
Singer and songwriter Eilish is in town playing two sold-out nights at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. She stopped in at VINTAGE on Lyndale Avenue near closing time, store owner Justin Schaefer said, describing her visit as a “complete surprise.”
“She seemed very into the vibe of the shop,” Schaefer said. “She was quoted as saying, ‘this place is so awesome.’”
The “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” and “What Was I Made For?” singer bought a ‘60s cooking apron with a female nude on it, which Schaefer described as “very punk.” She also bought a 1950s Coca-Cola work shirt and a black and white striped ‘60s referee jacket, Schaefer said. Members of her entourage also bought items.
At the store, Eilish posed for a photo with Schaefer’s 11-year-old son, who Schaefer said “played it cool.”
“My son was the most excited, which is the best,” Schaefer said.
Schaefer wondered how Eilish found his shop, which he said carries niche items.
“I don’t really know how she found it, probably like anybody else,” he said. “People are always curious what’s in this 1930s White Castle on the National Register of Historic Places.”
Star Tribune
Paris to deploy 4,000 police officers for France-Israel soccer match following violence in Amsterdam
PARIS — Paris police said Sunday that 4,000 officers and 1,600 stadium staff will be deployed for a France-Israel soccer match to ensure security in and around the stadium and on public transportation a week after violence against Israeli fans in Amsterdam.
France and Israel are playing in a UEFA Nations League match on Thursday.
”There’s a context, tensions that make that match a high-risk event for us,” Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez said on French news broadcaster BFM TV, adding authorities ”won’t tolerate” any violence.
Nuñez said that 2,500 police officers would be deployed around the Stade de France stadium, north of the French capital, in addition to 1,500 others in Paris and on public transportation.
”There will be an anti-terrorist security perimeter around the stadium,” Nuñez said. Security checks will be ”reinforced,” he added, including with systematic pat-downs and bag searches.
Nuñez said that French organizers have been in contact with Israeli authorities and security forces in order to prepare for the match.
Israeli fans were assaulted last week after a soccer game in Amsterdam by hordes of young people apparently riled up by calls on social media to target Jewish people, according to Dutch authorities. Five people were treated at hospitals and dozens were arrested after the attacks, which were condemned as antisemitic by authorities in Amsterdam, Israel and across Europe.
On Sunday, Dutch police detained several people for taking part in a demonstration in central Amsterdam that had been outlawed following the violence targeting Israeli fans, a local broadcaster reported.
