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.

The state that handed former President Donald Trump one of his narrowest losses four years ago is immersed in election controversies even before the first ballots of this year’s presidential 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.

The once-wonky Georgia State Election Board has burst into the limelight this year as a new Republican majority – made up of a retired obstetrician, a former state senator who put out feelers for a Trump administration job and a right-wing media personality – push ahead with new rules that could create chaos in November.

Georgia’s State Election Board is preparing to vote on nearly a dozen rule changes Friday that could take effect before the election, concerning local officials.

The state election board was recently taken over by a conservative majority. Its latest proposals are dangerously late in the process and most likely illegal, according to the secretary of state.