President-elect Joe Biden has more than a 14,000 vote lead in Georgia. The Secretary of State has just announced that he will require a “full, by-hand recount” of the 2020 presidential election. The state has a November 20 deadline to certify the results.
“With the margin being so close, it will require a full, by-hand recount in each county,” Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced Wednesday, CNBC reports.
“This will help build confidence. It will be an audit, a recount and a re-canvass all at once,” Raffensperger says. “It will be a heavy lift but we will work with the counties to get this done in time for our state certification.”
GOP Congressman Doug Collins, who is leading the Trump campaign’s efforts claiming fraud in Georgia, had called for the recount.
Raffensperger earlier had made clear there would be a recount, given the 14,000 vote margin. Republicans have been calling for his resignation after he refused to give credence to the false claims of fraud from the Trump campaign and GOP operatives.
He also says any fraud that might have occurred is “unlikely” to change the result of the election.
Award-winning investigative journalist Kim Zetter says this is a “risk-limiting audit” that “does not recount all the ballots.”
Here’s Sec. Raffensperger minutes ago making the announcement:
Georgia Republicans have been pushing false claims of fraud: