CORRECTION

Georgia Elections Director Says Voter Challenge Guidance Was Wrong

Blake Evans, the state elections director, clarified in a new bulletin that voter challenges cannot be made in person with a poll worker.

Georgia State Elections Director Blake Evans issued corrected instructions on Thursday to county election officials and to county registrars to make it clear that any voter challenges must go throw a formal process and cannot simply be made to poll workers while voting. According to the official election bulletin sent Thursday, voter challenges must be made in writing, “specify distinctly the grounds of the challenge, and must be filed with the board of registrars.” It also made clear no one can file challenges with a poll manager or poll worker. The previous bulletin erroneously indicated that voter eligibility “may be challenged by another voter at the time of voting,” Evans told Axios. “In-person voter challenges at polling places are not allowed. We regret the error and are issuing updated guidance,” he clarified. After filing, the board of registrars would need to review the challenge, decide if there’s probable cause to continue and then follow next steps according to Georgia law.