Georgia election officials and others said Monday that hand recounts of ballots in the top two races would be lengthy and costly.

The Senate attached an amendment requiring recounts to a bill originally drafted to extend the deadline to eliminate counting ballots using electronic QR codes.

The Association of County Commissioners of Georgia comments on election bills only when they affect local taxpayer costs and election administration, said Todd Edwards, the organization’s director of governmental affairs. The amendment affects both, he said.

The General Assembly included an additional $15 million for local election offices in its supplemental budget, but, to his knowledge, the secretary of state has not yet sent the money to counties, Edwards said.

“The other concern is that’s a one-time funding appropriation,” Edwards said. “Will that continue in the future?”

Fulton County estimated the recount would cost $100,000 per day with two shifts of workers, said Atlanta Democrat Shea Roberts. The cost for recounting the top two elections would be $1 million, she said.

Election officials told the House Governmental Affairs Committee that the process for obtaining results would affect election certification.

“We can expect there to be more questions about the process and having never done that, I am not sure how long it’s going to take,” said Joseph Kirk, president of the Georgia Association of Voter Registration and Election Officials and Bartow County election supervisor. “I know that with those extra steps, doing our certification will be very, very difficult.”

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