Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced Friday (November 20) that the state will be certifying its vote, formally confirming President-elect Joe Biden’s win.
“Numbers don’t lie. As Secretary of State, I believe the numbers we presented today are correct,” he told CNN.
After Biden gained a lead by narrow margins, a new state law was activated which required an audit and recount.
The audit showed no signs of defects or tampering, and now that the recount is complete, the Secretary can move forward with certification.
Secretary Raffensperger, a Republican, received pressure from state party leaders to change the outcome, citing baseless claims of statewide voter fraud as “proof” the outcome was wrong.
“Like other Republicans,” Raffensperger said, “I’m disappointed that our candidate didn’t win Georgia’s electoral votes.”
With this certification, President-elect Biden’s win is further cemented. Donald Trump and his campaign tried using lawsuits in multiple states to make a long shot effort to change the outcome of the election. Their efforts are running out as more states certify their vote.
On Thursday (November 19), his campaign lawyers withdrew a lawsuit in Michigan after the Board of Canvassers in Wayne County voted to certify Detroit’s election results.
These efforts are on a time limit though, as December 8 is the “safe harbor” deadline states must meet to have Congress recognize their vote certification, according to federal law.
President-elect Biden is the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Georgia’s 16 electoral votes since 1992 when former President Bill Clinton ran for office.
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