The election board in one of the most crucial swing states in the 2024 presidential election approved a controversial new rule that will require the hand counting of ballots on election night. 

The Georgia State Election Board voted 3-2 to approve a rule that requires poll workers to count the number of paper ballots by hand after voting is completed in a decision that was opposed by the state attorney general’s office, the secretary of state’s office and an association of county election officials but supported by many conservatives.

Three board members who were praised by former President Donald Trump during a rally last month in Atlanta voted to approve the measure.

Critics of the move say that the measures came at the last minute and will delay reporting results in the state.

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In a memo sent to election board members Thursday, the office of state Attorney General Chris Carr said no provision in state law allows counting the number of ballots by hand at the precinct level before the ballots are brought to county election superintendent for vote tallying. As a result, the memo says, the rule is "not tethered to any statute" and is "likely the precise kind of impermissible legislation that agencies cannot do."

The new rule, according to the Associated Press, requires that the number of paper ballots — not the number of votes — be counted at each polling place by three separate poll workers until all three counts are the same. If a scanner has more than 750 ballots inside at the end of voting, the poll manager can decide to begin the count the following day.

The board's chair, John Fervier, a Republican, voted against the rule, saying the "overwhelming number of election officials" who reached out to him were opposed to the change.

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"I do think it's too close to the election," Fervier said. "It's too late to train a lot of poll workers."

Other conservatives on social media praised the move as a step in the right direction to avoid voter fraud including former Trump spokesperson Liz Harrington who posted on X that the decision was "great news."

"YES!!!" Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on X. "Way to go GA State Election Board!! Thank you for taking every step to fight for election integrity!!"

In 2020, approximately five million votes were cast in the presidential race statewide, more than half in early voting.

Recent polling shows that Harris and Trump are neck-and-neck in Georgia with approximately 46.9% of voters currently saying they would vote for Trump, compared to 44.4% of voters who say they would cast their vote for Harris. 

Fox News Digital's Timothy HJ Nerozzi, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Since the devastating fire that broke out at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France on April 15, 2019, an enormous restoration project has been underway. 

In addition to rebuilding, archaeologists have explored the site, unearthing thousands of ancient findings. 

When artifacts are discovered, answers aren't always uncovered with them. It often takes more research and investigation in order to grasp a better understanding of the story behind the find.

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Back in 2022, archaeologists discovered two lead sarcophagi under the transept crossing of the cathedral. Sarcophagi were containers used to hold a coffin. They were reserved for the burying of wealthy individuals and leaders. 

One of the deceased was quickly identified as Antoine de La Porte, a canon of the cathedral who died in 1710. 

The other remained unknown, but has recently been hypothesized to be the famous French poet, Joachim du Bellay, who died in 1560, according to a September 17, 2024, news release from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP).

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Du Bellay was believed to have been buried in the cathedral beside his uncle at the request of his family, but his grave was never found.

Éric Crubézy, professor of biological anthropology at Toulouse 3 University and research director and his team put forth the hypothesis based on evidence such as the fact that an autopsy revealed that the individual suffered from bone tuberculosis and chronic meningitis, which was rare at the time, and parallels the medical history of du Bellay. 

Additionally, the femur structure of the man was in line with someone who spent a lot of time riding horses, according to Euronews. This detail, again, is in line with the life of du Bellay. 

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"He matches all the criteria of the portrait: he is an accomplished horseman, suffers from both conditions mentioned in some of his poems, like in ‘The Complaint of the Despairing,’ where he describes 'this storm that blurs (his) mind,' and his family belonged to the royal court and the pope's close entourage," Crubézy said, per La Croix International. 

Even though there is evidence to support the hypothesis, there are still researchers who have their doubts. 

"Certain elements do not support this hypothesis: isotope analysis of the teeth indicates that the individual lived in the Paris region or Rhône-Alpes until he was 10 years old. However, we know that Joachim du Bellay grew up in Anjou," Christophe Besnier, an INRAP archaeologist and excavation leader, told the outlet. "Additionally, just because his grave wasn't found during the 1758 excavations of the Saint-Crépin chapel, doesn't mean his remains weren't there."

Since the fire of 2019, there have been more than 100 burials identified, and 80 excavated in the cathedral, according to INRAP. 

More than 50 archaeologists have been on site, working on the 14 operations that have taken place, the source notes. 

As of now, reopening of the cathedral is planned for December 2024.