Live updates: Biden doubles lead over Trump in Georgia to more than 4,000 votes
Editor’s note: McClatchy reporters will provide live updates on Georgia’s vote counting process and other election news in the state throughout the day.
Friday night count
Thousands of votes are left to be counted in Georgia, but Democrat Joe Biden continues to maintain his lead over President Donald Trump.
As of 11 p.m. Friday, the tally stood at 49.42% for Biden (2,456,845 votes) to 49.34% for Trump (2,452,825 votes). That’s a difference of 4,020 votes.
Fulton to upload roughly 4,700 votes Friday night
Fulton County plans to upload 3,812 provisional ballots and around 900 military/overseas ballots Friday night, county election director Rick Barron told reporters.
As of 3 p.m., there 8,400 military and overseas ballots and 14,200 provisional ballots outstanding. That was a slight increase from estimates given during an earlier press conference. It’s unclear how many of those ballots were accepted.
As of 6:30 p.m., Joe Biden leads Donald Trump by more than 4,100 votes.
Biden doubles lead over Trump to more than 4,000
Joe Biden leads Donald Trump by 4,258 votes as of 5 p.m. Friday, according to data from the Georgia Secretary of State.
Several thousand ballots remain outstanding, and there are also up to 9,000 military and overseas statewide ballots that had to arrive today, as well provisional ballots. County election officials will also have to verify and count provisional ballots. It’s unclear how many were submitted statewide.
Biden is just six electoral votes shy of the necessary 270, according to the Associated Press. But vote counting in several key states is ongoing. The AP has Biden leading in Nevada, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
If Biden won Georgia, he’d be the first Democrat to carry the state since Bill Clinton in 1992.
Georgia remains ‘too close to call’ as recount is likely
Georgia’s top election officials said Friday afternoon that the state remains too close to call. A recount is “likely” as Joe Biden and President Donald Trump are separated by less than 1,600 votes.
County election officials have accepted 18,008 overseas and military ballots, leaving 8,410 outstanding that could arrive before the close of business Friday. It is unlikely that all of those ballots will be returned, and the ballots must be postmarked by Election Day for them to eligible.
Macon-Bibb County has 86 overseas and military ballots that could be returned. Fulton County has 956, and Muscogee County has 323 ballots that could be returned.
“That does not mean there is a bucket of 8,410 votes that are ready to be counted,” said Gabriel Sterling, the state’s voting system implementation manager. “It’s going to be more than zero but less than 8,410.”
County election officials will also have to verify and count provisional ballots. It’s unclear how many were submitted statewide.
All but 25 of Georgia’s counties have reported their total number of provisional ballots. The current tally is 13,012, but not all of those will be accepted, Sterling said.
Fulton, the state’s largest county, had 4,869 in an initial report provided to the state. Of those, 3,603 were accepted. Many of those accepted came from voters who confirmed their identification with election officials or people who voted in the proper county but the wrong precinct. Ballots are being uploaded every 20 to 30 minutes, Sterling said.
County election officials have until Nov. 13 to certify their election results, and the state’s deadline is Nov. 20.
But Sterling said he hopes counties will certify results faster than that so the state can conduct its risk-limiting audit. Because the margins are so narrow, the audit essentially serves as a recount. Legal action from the Trump or Biden campaign remains a possibility and a request for a recount is likely, Sterling added.
“We’re are trying to get everything closed out today, but it could move into tomorrow,” Sterling said.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger continued to promise all legal votes would be counted, and the voting process in Georgia will remain transparent.
Governor Brian Kemp, Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan and Speaker David Ralston issued a joint statement before the press conference that echoed Raffensperger’s message.
“Free and fair elections are the foundation of our American government,” the statement reads. “Any allegations of intentional fraud or violations of election law must be taken seriously and investigated. We trust that our Secretary of State will ensure that the law is followed as written and that Georgia’s election result includes all legally-cast ballots — and only legally-cast ballots. We will continue to follow this situation to ensure a fair and transparent process.”
As of 4 p.m., Biden leads Trump by a little more than 1,500 votes.
Secretary of State to hold 3 p.m. press conference
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger will hold a 3 p.m. press conference where he’s expected to provide an election update. It will be the second conference held today as the county election officials work to count remaining absentee ballots.
Military and overseas ballots that are due by the close of business are also being counted.
“We have already received and counted 17,000 overseas and military ballots, leaving 8,900 outstanding that could arrive by the close of business today and be counted. In 2016, there were 18,634 overseas and military voters, of which 8,218 were in the military,” the secretary of state’s office said in a statement to McClatchy.
As of 2 p.m., Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump in Georgia by 1,557 votes out of more than 4.96 million ballots. The margin has not changed much since this morning.
Will there be a recount in Georgia?
A recount may occur in Georgia’s presidential race as the margin of victory will likely be within a few thousand votes, state election officials told reporters during a 10:30 a.m. press conference.
County election officials have about 4,200 absentee ballots left to count. There are also up to roughly 8,900 military and overseas ballots that are due by the close of business today. They must be postmarked by Election Day. An unknown number of provisional ballots must also be counted.
Ballot curing, the process of allowing voters to fix mistakes with their absentee ballots, and the verification of provisional ballots continues today.
Here is the county breakdown of the outstanding absentee ballots, according to Gabriel Sterling, Voting System Implementation Manager at the Georgia Secretary of State Office:
- Cherokee: 150. Those had to be rescanned and uploaded.
- Cobb: 75
- Floyd: 444
- Gwinnett: 3,500
After the votes are tallied, county election officials must certify their results. The state can certify its election results after conducting a risk-limiting audit as part of recent changes to the state’s election laws, said Sterling.
While Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said there would be a recount in Georgia, that may not occur.
If the margin falls with half of a percent (0.5%) of the total vote, the losing candidate may request a recount, Sterling said. Georgia law also states the Secretary of State could order a recount if a candidate for federal or state office petitions the office regarding apparent discrepancies or errors in the returns.
Georgia election officials said they’ve seen no widespread fraud or irregularities, but any credible accusation will be investigated.
“When you have a narrow margin, little small things can make a difference,” Sterling said.
As of 10:57 a.m., Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump in Georgia by about 1,600 votes out of more than 4.96 million ballots.
Secretary of State updates absentee totals
There are about 8,200 absentee ballots left to count in five Georgia counties, according to Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
In a tweet at 8:52 a.m., Raffensperger said 8,197 ballots are outstanding plus about 8,900 military and overseas ballots that are due today. They must be postmarked by Election Day to be counted.
Here’s the breakdown of ballots left to count:
- Cobb: 700
- Floyd: 444
- Gwinnett: 4,800
- Laurens: 1,797
- Taylor: 456
Biden leads Trump in Georgia by more than 1,000 votes
Joe Biden leads Donald Trump by 1,096 votes as of 6 a.m. Friday, according to data from the Georgia Secretary of State.
Several thousand ballots remain outstanding, and there are also up to 9,000 military and overseas statewide ballots that would have to arrive by Friday to be counted, as well as an unknown number of provisional ballots. Those ballots would need to have been postmarked by Election Day.
Biden is just six electoral votes shy of the necessary 270, according to the Associated Press. But vote counting in several key states is ongoing. The AP has Biden leading in Nevada, but down in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
If Biden won Georgia, he’d be the first Democrat to carry the state since Bill Clinton in 1992.
Perdue and Ossoff could be headed to runoff
Incumbent Republican Sen. David Perdue has fallen below 50% of the vote against Democrat challenger Jon Ossoff, leading both campaigns to address the possibility of a January runoff election.
Georgia’s two Senate elections could determine the Senate’s balance of power. The Associated Press reports both parties are tied, 48-48 with 4 seats undetermined.
This story was originally published November 6, 2020 at 7:18 AM with the headline "Live updates: Biden doubles lead over Trump in Georgia to more than 4,000 votes."