Georgia confirms Biden victory after recount completed
Georgia has confirmed Joe Biden’s victory after it finished the audit of the state’s roughly five million ballots, amid escalating tension over the outcome of the disputed election.
After six days of hand count, the Georgia secretary of state’s office reaffirmed on Thursday that Biden had defeated Trump in the state.
Biden beat President Donald Trump by 12,284 votes, according to the final results from the audit that was required by state law.
The recount, however, exposed flaws in Georgia’s new elections system, as it gave Trump 500 votes more than he had in the original count and a slight drop to Biden — compared to the pre-audit results.
Georgia's top election official expressed disappointment over Trump’s defeat, but reaffirmed that "numbers don't lie.”
Trump had asked Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, for a full hand recount one week after Election Day.
Raffensperger announced soon after that all 159 counties would participate in a “risk-limiting audit” that would include a hand recount.
Most counties saw only minor changes in their tallies, with the recount vote totals differing by single digits.
The recount also uncovered several thousand votes that had not been previously reported to the state, but they were not enough to turn the tides of the outcome in Trump’s favor.
Georgia has until Friday to certify the election results. The Trump campaign then has two business days to request a second recount.
Trump, who has so far refused to concede, is now trying to persuade leaders of battleground states, Michigan, to delay the certification of the state’s election results until an official audit has been completed.
One of the two Republicans on the four-member Michigan Board of State Canvassers said on Thursday that he was he is leaning toward calling for a delay in the certification of the results.
In the meantime, the president summoned state Republican leaders for an extraordinary meeting on Friday, in an attempt to convince Republican-controlled legislatures to set aside the results and determine Trump the winner.
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