Georgia certifies election results
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Photo: Paras Griffin/Getty Images
Georgia election officials and Gov. Brian Kemp (R) certified the state's election results on Friday, AP reports.
Why it matters: President-elect Biden now officially wins the state by a little more than 12,600 votes, though the Trump campaign has until Tuesday to request a recount since the margin is within 0.5%.
The state of play: A recount would be completed using scanning machines and would be paid for by the counties, per AP.
- Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger earlier on Friday issued a correction to a prior announcement that the state's election results had been certified.
What they're saying: “State law now requires the governor’s office to formalize the certification, which paves the way for the Trump campaign to pursue other legal options and a separate legal option if they choose," Kemp said during a press conference Friday.
- "Working as an engineer throughout my life, I live by the motto that numbers don’t lie," Raffensperger said during a news conference at the state Capitol, NPR reports.
- "As secretary of state, I believe that the numbers that we have presented today are correct. The numbers reflect the verdict of the people, not a decision by the secretary of state's office or of courts or of either campaign."
The big picture: The certification comes as President Trump and his campaign are seeking to discredit election tallies in key swing states that flipped to Biden this cycle as the president has engaged in baseless and unproven claims of widespread voter fraud that affected their results.
- Secretaries of state and election officials across the U.S. have reported no instances of widespread voter fraud, whether through in-person or mail-in voting.
This breaking news item has been updated after the Georgia secretary of state certified the state's election results.
