One measure, to be voted on Friday, would require hand counting of ballots. Critics say that it would create widespread confusion in a state pivotal to the presidential race.

Any rules adopted by the Georgia's controversial State Election Board on Friday will go into effect after overseas and military ballots have started to go out and just as early voting is about to begin.

The state that handed Donald Trump one of his narrowest losses in 2020 is immersed in controversies even before the first ballots of this year’s race are cast.

The Georgia State Election Board is set to vote Friday on several election rules that have raised red flags among several voting rights organizations, Democrats and county election officials in advance of the November general election.

Georgia election officials have said they are “gravely concerned that dramatic changes” approved by the State Election Board “will disrupt the preparation and training processes already in motion.”

If approved, the hand count rule would make Georgia the only state in the U.S. to implement such a requirement as part of the normal process of tabulating results, according to Gowri Ramachandran, the director of elections and security at New York University's Brennan Center for Justice,

The Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections voted to approve a resolution urging the Georgia State Election Board to stop adopting new rules before the November presidential election.