Topline
Following a hand recount and audit, President-elect Joe Biden maintained a five-digit lead in Georgia’s presidential contest, state officials announced on Thursday, delivering the state’s 16 electoral votes to a Democrat for the first time in almost 30 years.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks during a drive-in campaign rally in the parking lot … [+]
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Key Facts
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is on track to certify Biden as the winner on Friday, which is the state’s deadline, he told Atlanta television station WSB-TV.
County election officials recounted every ballot in the state by hand over the last week, and Raffensperger told WSB-TV on Thursday that the recount generally aligned with the state’s original vote tallies, saying there ultimately was “not a thimble full of difference.”
According to the hand count, Biden leads President Donald Trump in the state by 12,284 votes.
That’s down from an initial lead of 14,112 votes, primarily because four counties discovered more than 5,000 votes that initially went unreported due to human error.
Most of the state’s 159 counties reported little to no change between their initial tally and their recount, state officials say.
Crucial Quote
“There’s no doubt [that Biden won],” Raffensperger told WSB-TV Thursday. “The numbers support that. So does the audit.”
Key Background
When Georgia finished up its initial counting process last week, Biden led Trump by less than 0.3 percentage points. Raffensperger ordered a hand recount of the nearly 5 million presidential votes cast statewide, part of a legally mandated risk-limiting audit, though state officials did not expect the recount to change the election’s outcome. Still, Trump and his allies have spread false conspiracy theories about voter fraud in the state, baselessly attacked Raffensperger, and mounted legal challenges aimed at stopping the certification process or invalidating some ballots. Judges have swatted down at least two of those lawsuits so far.
What To Watch For
Trump can still request another recount in Georgia because Biden’s margin of victory is less than 0.5 points, but that recount would be conducted by high-speed scanners. Trump’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Further Reading
US election 2020: Why Republicans are fighting in Georgia (BBC)
Trump Claims Georgia Didn’t Verify Mail-In Ballots. Here’s Why That’s A Lie. (Forbes)
Detailed Turnout Data Shows How Georgia Turned Blue (New York Times)
Source: Forbes – Business
