When will battleground GA declare presidential winner? Update from top voting official
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced the state will be “pushing really hard” to get Georgia votes counted Wednesday at a news conference at the state capitol.
“We’re excited to report that the people of Georgia have spoken. It’s never been easier to vote in Georgia,” Raffensperger said. “Our job isn’t done yet though.”
Raffensperger said election officials are working to get the remaining absentee ballots, more than 200,000, counted by the end of the day.
If all of the ballots haven’t been counted by the end of the day Wednesday, Raffensperger said he hopes there will be at least enough votes counted to determine who won the election in Georgia.
“Every legal vote in Georgia will be counted,” Raffensperger said.
Although President Donald Trump is leading the election in Georgia by around 100,000 votes, the state still has to count at least 236,000 absentee ballots from Cobb, Dekalb, Fulton, Gwinnett and Houston counties, according to Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Greg Bluestein.
Biden would have to win 72% of those absentee votes to pass Trump -- though the percentage drops if we assume tens of thousands more absentees might be outstanding. Those numbers are just the minimums. #gapol
— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) November 4, 2020
Some national media outlets, including the New York Times, have indicated a Biden advantage, but no media outlet has called the state either way.
Now we are getting a correction/update from @GaSecofState staff - they tell us ALL early votes in Fulton county have been counted. So the 74,000 absentee ballots are still outstanding but ALL early votes have been counted.
Still some Fulton precincts out— Justin Gray (@JustinGrayWSB) November 4, 2020
Other complications in Georgia
Fulton County saw delays in counting absentee ballots due to a burst pipe at State Farm Arena where some ballots were stored in addition to simply counting and adjudicating absentee ballots, according to AJC.
Gwinnett County experienced software problem that interfered with how the absentee ballots were scanned, so some of those ballots have to be adjudicated by a panel, according to the Associated Press. DeKalb County was supposed to resume processing absentee ballots by 11 a.m. Wednesday.
