CBS Evening News fact checks conservative misinformation about the accuracy of hand counting election ballots
Major Garrett: “Numerous studies have shown hand counts to be less accurate, more costly, more time-consuming”
Published
Citation From the October 1, 2024, edition of CBS' CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell
NORAH O'DONNELL (HOST): A legal showdown is developing in Georgia over how ballots should be counted. The state election board is requiring a hand count, while Democrats are now suing to stop that. In the last four years, 11 states have attempted hand counting in local elections or introduced legislation requiring a hand count. But as Major Garrett reports in tonight’s “Eye on America,” there's no evidence it's more reliable.
MAJOR GARRETT (CORRESPONDENT): For the last year, Mark Cook has been preaching a kind of low-tech election-doubting gospel in communities across the country.
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Traveling by RV, Cook and his hand count roadshow are part of an election conspiracy movement that's been growing since 2020, one that claims that voting machines can be hacked and manipulated, meaning the only voting system to be trusted is an old fashion hand count.
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Numerous studies have shown hand counts to be less accurate, more costly, more time-consuming, but that hasn’t stopped Cook from preaching.