Election 2020 updates: Georgia nears recount completion; no more uncounted ballots found

USA TODAY'S coverage of the 2020 election continues this week as states prepare to finish certifying their vote counts after President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the hard-fought presidential race. President Donald Trump has yet to concede the race as Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris prepare to take office in January.

Be sure to refresh this page often to get the latest information on the election and the transition.

Georgia nears completion of hand recount; no more uncounted ballots found

Election officials in Georgia say they are on track to finish their weeklong hand recount of the presidential race before midnight Thursday and to have results released by noon.

Election administrators have finished recounting the 5 million ballots cast in the race for president, but 21 of the state’s 159 counties are still inputting their data, Gabriel Sterling, the state’s voting system manager, said Wednesday.

These include some of the state’s largest counties, such as Fayette, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Cheatham.

“We’re still in good shape on getting to our intention, which was to meet the midnight tonight deadline,” Sterling said. “By noon tomorrow is our goal to have the audit report out to everyone.”

He said the past day of auditing found no more uncounted ballots like earlier in the week.

President-elect Joe Biden, who initially led President Donald Trump in Georgia by 14,196 votes, saw his lead narrow to 12,781 votes after officials identified uncounted ballots in four counties. Each was the result of human error.

Georgia must certify its election results Friday by state law. State law required an audit be conducted before votes are certified. The recounting began last Friday. After certification, the Trump campaign is expected to ask for another recount, which is allowed because the race is decided by less than 0.5%.

Trump has leveled baseless claims of voter fraud in Georgia and other battleground states he lost as he refuses to concede in the election he lost to Biden.

Earlier in the week, local election administrators found a memory card from a scanning machine that wasn’t uploaded in Floyd County, leaving 2,600 ballots uncounted and giving Trump a net gain of 778 votes. Failure to upload a memory card in Walton County gave Trump another 176 votes. Trump got another net-gain of 449 because of 2,755 uncounted early ballots in Fayette County. Biden gained a net of 28 votes because of uncounted ballots in Douglas County.

Besides the changes in the four counties that failed to count all votes, the secretary of state’s office said results from the machine vote – not the manual recount – will remain the state’s official tally in the presidential race that will be certified Friday. State officials have said they expect Biden to remain the winner after the recount is complete.

— Joey Garrison

Pelosi: Going mask-less on House floor a 'serious breach of decorum'

Amid a surge in COVID-19 infections on Capitol Hill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned lawmakers that anyone not wearing a mask on or near the floor of the House would be committing “a serious breach of decorum.”

Referring to rules the House adopted during the summer to limit the spread of the virus, the speaker reminded members to vote in small groups, leave the chamber “promptly” afterwards, and not congregate in the rooms surrounding the floor.

“It is essential for the health and safety of members, staff and U.S. Capitol Police to consistently practice social distancing,” she said from the Speaker’s dais.

Pelosi also said members and staff will not be permitted to enter the Hall of the House without a mask and that one will be provided at the entrance to any member who doesn’t have one. Any failure or refusal to wear one, she said, would be viewed “as a serious breach of decorum.”

In less than a week, six lawmakers announced they had tested positive for COVID-19, including Sen. Chuck Grassley, the 87-year-old Iowa Republican who is third in line to the presidency as president pro tempore of the Senate.

In addition, the list of those testing positive includes four House members: Colorado Democrat Ed Perlmutter of Colorado, Alaska Republican Don Young, Illinois Democrat Cheri Bustos, and Michigan Republican Tim Walberg.

In contrast to the Republican-led Senate, the House has been emphasizing efforts to maintain social distance including the adoption of a proxy system that allows House members to designate colleagues to cast floor votes on their behalf, thereby limiting physical interaction in the chamber.

But some Republicans, including Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina have criticized the proxy system while Americans show up to on-site.

“We can’t ignore the fact that we’re in the middle of a global pandemic but that does not mean we get to abdicate our duties as members of Congress,” she said to a near-empty chamber Wednesday before Pelosi spoke. “Members of the United States Senate have shown up to conduct their business, so why isn’t the House doing the same?”

– Ledyard King

House Democrats again back Pelosi for House Speaker

House Democrats nominated Pelosi to lead them for another two years, where she will work with President-elect Joe Biden in hopes of passing his policy goals through Congress.

"I'm excited and I can't wait to be working with a new president," Pelosi said after the leadership elections Wednesday.

While her support from House Democrats is far from a surprise, she will still have to be reelected to the speaker position in a House floor vote in January at the start of the next Congress.

Pelosi acknowledged, through vague terms, this would be her last term as House Speaker, abiding by a commitment she made in 2018 to her caucus even though no term limits had been enacted on leadership.

"What I said then is whether it passes or not I will abide by those limits that are there," Pelosi said. "If my husband is listening, don’t let me have to be more specific than that because we never expected to have another term now."

Biden called Pelosi later Wednesday to congratulate her, telling her that he "looks forward to working with her and Democratic leadership in the House on a shared agenda to get COVID-19 under control and build our economy back better," according to a readout of the call.

Along with Pelosi, House Democrats also reelected much of its existing leadership team for another term, including Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer as majority leader, South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn as majority whip and New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries as chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.

Democrats also added another woman to its top brass: Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark as assistant speaker. Clark previously served as vice chair to the House Democratic Caucus.

House Republicans this week similarly reelected much of its leadership team, choosing California Rep. Kevin McCarthy to lead the conference as minority leader for another two years, along with House Republican Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney as chair of the House Republican Conference.

– Christal Hayes

Amid spike in COVID cases on Capitol Hill, McConnell does not suggest changes in protocol

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday lamented the end of fellow GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley’s vote streak due to his COVID-19 infection, but the Kentucky Republican did not suggest any change in how the chamber conducts its business amid a rising number of coronavirus cases among lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

In less than a week, six lawmakers – including Grassley – announced they had tested positive for COVID-19. The 87-year-old Iowa Republican who is third in line to the presidency as president pro tempore of the Senate, spent much of Monday on Capitol Hill. He cast votes, spoke on the Senate floor, and attended a meeting with Senate GOP leaders including McConnell.

Grassley announced his diagnosis the following day and began a quarantine that ended his streak of 8,927 consecutive votes since 1993.

“So our colleague’s historic run has been put on pause,” McConnell said Wednesday, referring back to Grassley’s remarks Monday, before his positive diagnosis that people should wash their hands, maintain social distance and wear a mask.

“We’re all going to get through this together but we need everyone to do their part," McConnell said.

McConnell did not mention any move to follow what the Democratic-led House has been doing for months: setting up a proxy system where members can designate a colleague to cast their vote, thereby limiting contact between lawmakers.

Shortly after McConnell spoke, North Carolina GOP Rep. Virginia Foxx was on the House floor chastising Democrats for continuing the proxy system when millions of Americans are showing up for work on-site.

“We can’t ignore the fact that we’re in the middle of a global pandemic but that does not mean we get to abdicate our duties as members of Congress,” she said to a near-empty chamber. “Members of the United States Senate have shown up to conduct their business so why isn’t the House doing the same?”

– Ledyard King

Trump campaign seeking partial recount of Wisconsin, hoping to overturn results

President Donald Trump will seek a recount of ballots in some Wisconsin counties, hoping to overturn the election results in his favor.

Trump's campaign paid the state $3 million as of Wednesday morning to start a partial recount, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission. The campaign has not yet filed a formal petition, the commission said, but noted one is expected today.

Trump would have had to pay nearly $8 million to conduct a full statewide recount of Wisconsin, a state he narrowly lost two weeks ago. A recount of certain counties costs less.

It's unclear in which counties Trump will seek a recount. A spokeswoman for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to questions from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

– Molly Beck (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Poll: Half of Republicans say Trump 'rightfully won' election

About half of Republicans in a new a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll say President Donald Trump “rightfully won” the presidential election.

Overall, 73% of those polled Nov. 13-17 believe Biden won the election while 5% believe he had lost it. When specifically asked whether Biden “rightfully won” the election, Republicans became much more skeptical, with 52% saying Trump "rightfully won" while 29% said Biden "rightfully won," the poll found.

Overall, 55% of U.S. adults said they believed the election was “legitimate and accurate,” down 7 points from a similar poll conducted after the 2016 election. That poll found 52% of Democrats saw the loss of Hillary Clinton as “legitimate and accurate” compared to only 26% of Republicans in 2020 who say the same of Trump’s loss.

Trump has repeatedly accused the election of being tainted with widespread voter fraud and has refused to concede to Biden. There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the election.

Trump has still filed multiple lawsuits in swing states alleging voter fraud, many are ongoing while several have been dismissed.

– Matthew Brown

Biden to meet with frontline health care workers

President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday will hold a virtual meeting with frontline health care workers battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Biden said Monday if outgoing President Donald Trump – who has refused to concede the election – continues to stonewall transition efforts, "many people may die" if the new administration is not able to coordinate on management of the pandemic.

Trump has no events on his schedule Wednesday. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will meet with transition advisers.

– Sean Rossman

Biden picks for top White House jobs draw contrast with Trump

President-elect Joe Biden signaled Tuesday he intends to draw on longtime, loyal aides with deep government experience when he enters the White House next year – breaking with the anti-establishment approach President Donald Trump embraced after his election four years ago.

With a series of personnel announcements Tuesday, the shape of the team that will occupy the West Wing after Jan. 20 came into sharper focus, with Biden turning to several aides who worked for him as vice president and others who either served President Barack Obama or have lengthy resumes from elsewhere in government.

"It’s a lot of experience," Phil Schiliro, former director of legislative affairs for Obama, said of Biden's picks, adding that they should help him get up and running quickly.

Biden's appointments, which included Steve Ricchetti, a longtime adviser and lobbyist, and Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, represented a departure from many of Trump's early appointments of outsider figures to top White House jobs – from strategist Steve Bannon to son-in-law Jared Kushner. Trump was limited in part because of the aggressively anti-establishment route he took to the presidency, experts said.

– John Fritze

Biden's team: Biden picks for top White House jobs draw contrast with Trump not only on policy but also style

Biden names 9 appointees: Joe Biden names 9 top White House appointees, including Rep. Cedric Richmond and campaign manager O'Malley Dillon

Trump ousts Homeland Security cyber chief Chris Krebs

The Department of Homeland Security's cyber chief, who presided over an elaborate election security effort guarding against foreign interference and fraud, was ousted by President Donald Trump on Tuesday as part of a continuing post-election purge of top national security officials.

Trump announced the dismissal in two tweets Tuesday night. Twitter flagged both tweets with labels saying, "This claim about election fraud is disputed."

The dismissal of Christopher Krebs, director of DHS's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, follows the agency's declaration that the general election was the most secure in U.S. history.

Chris Krebs: Trump ousts Homeland Security cyber chief Chris Krebs, who called election secure

The statement served as a pointed rebuke to a president who continues to make unsubstantiated allegations of voting fraud while Trump's legal team pursues multiple legal challenges in battleground states.

"There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised," the agency reported Thursday in an assessment joined by a coalition of election security groups, including the National Association of State Election Directors. "All of the states with close results in the 2020 presidential race have paper records of each vote, allowing the ability to go back and count each ballot if necessary. This is an added benefit for security and resilience. This process allows for the identification and correction of any mistakes or errors."

The former director acknowledged Trump's action in a brief tweet Tuesday: "Honored to serve. We did it right. Defend Today, Secure Tomrorow."

– Kevin Johnson and David Jackson

2 accused of voter fraud in California

Two men are accused of submitting fraudulent voter registration applications for homeless people, Los Angeles County prosecutors said Tuesday.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said Carlos Antonio De Bourbon Montenegro, 53, allegedly submitted more than 8,000 fraudulent voter registration applications between July and October. Marcos Raul Arevalo, 34, also faces charges in the case.

They are both charged with one count of conspiracy to commit voter fraud, eight counts of voter fraud, four counts of procuring and offering a false or forged instrument and four misdemeanor counts of interference with a prompt transfer of a completed affidavit.

Montenegro also allegedly falsified names, address and signatures on nomination papers to run for mayor in the city of Hawthorne, prosecutors said.

He is charged with an additional 10 counts of voter fraud, seven counts of procuring and offering a false or forged instrument, two counts of perjury and five misdemeanor counts of interference with a prompt transfer of a completed affidavit.

The district attorney's Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case.

– Lita Nadebah Beck

In Michigan, Wayne County election results certified after last-minute reversal

The Wayne County Board of Canvassers in Michigan unanimously voted to certify the county's November election results late Tuesday night after an earlier unprecedented 2-2 deadlock along partisan lines.

The board also passed a resolution calling on Michigan's secretary of state to conduct an independent comprehensive audit of all of the jurisdictions in Wayne County that recorded unexplained discrepancies between the number of absentee ballots recorded as cast and the number of absentee ballots counted.

Earlier Tuesday, the two Republican members of the board voted against certifying the results.

Public commenters who spoke during the meeting accused the board's Republican members of disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of voters – particularly African American voters – in initially refusing to certify the election.

The board is comprised of four members — two Democrats and two Republicans.

Tuesday was the final day the board could certify the county's election results. The unanimous vote to certify the results comes just in time for the board to meet Michigan's deadline.

– Clara Hendrickson (Detroit Free Press)

Michigan: GOP members reverse course, vote to certify Wayne County election results

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Election 2020 updates: Georgia nears completion of hand recount