The key state in Georgia’s electoral college voted Friday to have ballots counted by hand three times before the results are announced.

The new rule was one of several proposals to change the way elections are run. The motion passed the conservative panel 3-2 less than 50 days before the Nov. 5 election.

The changes come after Donald Trump heavily criticized the state’s handling of the 2020 election results, repeatedly and falsely claiming he had won the state.

President Joe Biden narrowly won Georgia, with 49.5 percent of the vote to Trump’s 49.2 percent.

“The purpose of the rule is to ensure a secure, transparent, and accurate count of ballots by requiring a systematic process in which ballots are independently counted by hand by three sworn poll workers,” the motion said.

On election day, the polling station manager and two sworn poll workers would open the ballot boxes, remove the ballots and register them. Three workers each would count all the votes.

If all three totals match, the result is approved and the documents are resealed.

The method of counting the votes contrasts with the way most elections are run, which involves counting machines, and could delay the announcement of Georgia’s results by days or even weeks, according to NPR.

Other ideas touted as ways to make elections more transparent include expanding access for partisan polling station observers.

Newsweek contacted the Electoral Council by email on Friday morning for comment.

Critics say the council, which has shifted increasingly to the right, wants to rewrite the rules to benefit former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump.

“After election rules were changed to give local election officials more power to refuse to certify election results, the latest changes implemented today by the pro-Trump Election Board appear designed to create a watershed in our system,” Lauren Groh-Wargo, CEO of voting rights organization Fair Fight, said in a statement.

“It is a perfect illustration of the MAGA operation’s strategy to sow doubt and chaos and disrupt the 2024 election. But it won’t work, the people will decide and their conspiracy will fail.”

On Thursday, the Georgia attorney general’s office warned in a letter that the board was implementing rules that “likely exceed the board’s statutory authority.” Voting rights groups also raised concerns.

“County election boards have a clear duty under Georgia law to report their election results faithfully and certify them in a timely manner,” Sophia Lakin, executive director of the ACLU Voting Rights Project, said in a press release last week. “The State Election Board’s last-minute rule changes add uncertainty and confusion to the certification process and threaten the fundamental right to vote.”

After the election four years ago, Trump alleged voter fraud and rigged voting machines, causing him to lose the state. Despite recounts and multiple failed lawsuits, the Republican has continued to warn against “cheating” this November.

The Georgia Election Integrity Coalition, which supports Trump, has already leveled allegations of voter fraud, despite the fact that early voting in the state doesn’t start until October 15.

Officials in some parts of the state, and in other states where Trump has been the target of allegations of voter fraud, have had to beef up security for poll workers in the run-up to Election Day.

Newsweek has contacted the Georgia Attorney General’s Office for comment, but the office said it could not comment further.

Update 9/20/24 1:25 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information.

Update 20-09-24 4:27 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comments from Lauren Groh-Wargo.

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