GA Election Results 2020: 200K Ballots Uncounted In Cliffhanger

Updated at 12:08 p.m. Wednesday

GEORGIA — With the presidential campaigns and the entire country closely watching the results of the presidential race in Georgia, there is still no winner declared, although President Trump has claimed victory.

Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said just before noon on Wednesday that the state still has 200,000 absentee ballots and 43,000 early votes to count, according to WSB-TV.

“I want everyone to know by the sound of my voice that every legal vote in Georgia will count," WSB-TV reported Raffensperger saying. "We have about 200,000 ballots left to be counted. With the absentee ballot process, and there are also about 40,000 to 50,000 early votes that need to be counted. Every legal vote will be counted. We’re saying that every legal ballot will be counted in Georgia because that’s our process."

The Peach State is one of a handful of key states where the presidential contest is too close to call; others include Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.

As of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time, 99 percent of the state's vote was counted. President Donald Trump had 50.4 percent of the vote, with 2.38 million votes, to former vice president Joe Biden's 48.3 percent and 2.28 million votes. But outstanding votes in Fulton County, a large Democratic stronghold, could give Biden the win in Georgia.

In a 2:20 a.m. speech in the White House, Donald Trump claimed victory in the Peach State and said the election is a fraud that requires U.S. Supreme Court action.

Biden has said he expects to win the race, and none of the national news organizations have called Georgia for either candidate.

According to the New York Times, Biden’s campaign manager, Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, said Trump’s remarks were “outrageous, unprecedented, and incorrect,” and “a naked effort to take away the democratic rights of American citizens.”

A water line break delayed Fulton County totals as election workers stopped counting absentee ballots at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday in the traditionally Democratic county. As of 1:15 a.m. Wednesday DeKalb County, with a large Black electorate, had not finished counting votes either.

According to the state election site, 89 percent of DeKalb precincts had reported, and Biden had roughly 130,000 votes to about 24,000 for Trump.

“Millions and millions of people voted for us tonight,” Trump said in remarks at the White House. “A very sad group of people is trying to disenfranchise that group of people and we won't stand for it.”

He said his campaign was ready to celebrate the surge in voter turnout nationwide, and winning states he didn’t expect to win, including Florida, Texas, and Georgia. He noted the vote wasn't complete in the Peach State, but said, “they’re never going to catch us."

The voting should stop, the president said, and he said his team will head to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"This is a fraud on the American public this is an embarrassment to our country," Trump said. "We were getting ready to win this election, frankly, we did win this election.”

(Find real-time results from the state election office at the bottom of this story.)

With Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona, Pennsylvania and a few other states all deemed too close to call, Biden made a brief appearance to tell supporters he's optimistic he'll win the presidency.

Biden said, in part:

Members of both political parties have rejected Trump’s assertions about a stolen election. Many states routinely count absentee and mail-in ballots in the days after in-person voting. To bolster respect for the country’s election process, two high-profile politicians — one a Republican governor and one a Democratic U.S. senator — have launched a $1 million national ad campaign urging Americans to wait for final counts and respect how elections are run.

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Maryland’s Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, both centrists, promoted bipartisan governance in the “Respect the Vote” campaign on national cable, streaming and social.

“The world is watching. What happens in the coming days and weeks will define America for decades to come,” said Hogan, seen as a GOP presidential contender in four years. “I know emotions are running high, but we need to keep faith in the voters and our democracy ... Let the process work, just like it has every four years for over 200 years.”

“This unprecedented campaign has challenged our nation to its core,” Manchin says. “Throughout our nation’s 240 year history, we have persevered through many hardships, and we will continue to do so now as our country begins to unify around solving the problems facing our families and communities.”

The state's 16 electoral votes are crucial for both candidates, and its two U.S. Senate seats on the ballot Nov. 3 are also highly prized.

Both of Georgia's U.S. Senate seats, currently held by Republicans, are also on the ballot, and experts said one or both races could go to runoffs next month.

As expected, Sen. Kelly Loeffler will head to a January runoff election, where she will face Democrat Raphael Warnock.

In the other Senate race, Sen. David Perdue has a large lead over Democrat Jon Ossoff, although the race had not been called as of Wednesday morning.

All but one of the 159 precincts have reported their results. As of 9:29 a.m. on Wednesday, Warnock is leading with 31.86 percent (or 1,479,589 votes) against Loeffler with 26.48 percent (or 1,229,551 votes), according to unofficial early election results.

Related: GA Senate Elections: Warnock, Loeffler In Runoff; Perdue Leads

Polling places in one suburban Atlanta county were extended Tuesday, and multiple changes to Fulton County voting locations confused some residents trying to cast their ballots. Both political parties and voters nationwide are watching to see how Georgia casts its ballot for president and two United States Senate seats.

Fulton County officials told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the county will pick up counting votes after stopping at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

The county did not address why it was stopping Tuesday night, but told the paper that was the procedure.

After a water pipe burst earlier Tuesday in a room housing mail-in ballots at State Farm Arena, election officials confirmed results will be delayed. No ballots were damaged according to a statement from Fulton County.

A statement from Fulton County said the county would report results Tuesday night for about 86,000 absentee ballots, as well as Election Day and early voting results. That total will represent the vast majority of ballots cast within Fulton County.

"As planned, Fulton County will continue to tabulate the remainder of absentee ballots over the next two days. Absentee ballot processing requires that each ballot is opened, signatures verified, and ballots scanned. This is a labor-intensive process that takes longer to tabulate than other forms of voting. Fulton County did not anticipate having all absentee ballots processed on Election Day," officials said.

DeKalb Superior Court Judge Courtney L. Johnson signed an order Tuesday afternoon approving a petition by the Board of Registration and Elections to extend voting for two DeKalb County polling places that opened late this morning.

This extension was requested, in an abundance of caution, to ensure that all electors at the locations have the required full 12 hours of voting.

Cherokee County Chief Superior Court Judge Ellen McElyea has signed a requested order to extend voting hours at two locations due to some delays incurred.

Cobb County Superior Court Judge Robert Leonard signed an order Tuesday afternoon to keep the Sope Creek 02 precinct, at the Sope Creek Elementary School, 3320 Paper Mill Road, Marietta, opened an additional 20 minutes tonight. The precinct opened 20 minutes late due to a late-arriving poll manager.

Return to Patch for the latest vote tally. Subscribe to free News Alerts for election results.

Some voters complained about showing up to find they were at the wrong polling place Tuesday.

Fulton County election officials told Patch: "We did have 91 polling places so many voters did have new locations. Provisional ballots are intended to allow voters to to cast their ballots in case there are issues. All eligible votes will be counted, whether they are provisional or on the ballot marketing devices."

Earlier on Tuesday, a federal judge ordered the U.S. Postal Service to check sorting facilities, including some in Atlanta, for any remaining mail-in ballots. Postal authorities must prioritize delivery of ballots, the court order said.

Voters headed to the polls Nov. 3 to make their choice in the presidential election, U.S. House and U.S. Senate, as well as state constitutional amendments and local tax referendums.

Georgia has emerged as a key battleground state in this presidential election, and both Trump and his opponent, Democrat Joe Biden, have campaigned hard in the Sunshine State in the final weeks leading up to Nov. 3. Trump was in the state Sunday night and assured his supporters of victory.

His aides told Trump he had the state "made." "They said 'sir you don't have to come to Georgia. We have it made,'" the president said.

Former president Barack Obama was set to hold a drive-in rally Monday afternoon in Atlanta to turn out the vote for Biden, as well as Democratic Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.

The former vice president campaigned in the Peach State on Tuesday, which CNN said was the first time a Democratic presidential candidate has done so since Bill Clinton in 1996. Clinton lost Georgia then after having won it in 1992.

Biden pushed to flip Georgia to blue with stops Tuesday in Atlanta and Warm Springs. The vice president again bashed Trump for giving up on efforts to stem the coronavirus pandemic. "He's swaggered. And he's surrendered," Biden said, according to an Associated Press report.

The latest RealClearPolitics average of polls, released Sunday, showed Biden with less than 1 percentage point of a lead over Trump in Georgia, 47.8 percentage points to 47.4. A CNN poll released Saturday said 49 percent of voters polled there said they support Biden, while 46 percent said they back Trump.

The final Emerson College pollbefore the election finds Trump has 49 percent support in the state, with Biden a percentage point behind at 48 percent. Two percent of voters plan to vote for someone else and 2 percent are undecided.

Biden leads Trump among independent voters in Georgia 52 percent to 35 percent, the poll said. The majority (72 percent) of those who did not vote in 2016 and the majority (56 percent) of voters who voted third party in 2016 are supporting Biden this time.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. If you are in line by 7 p.m., you are allowed to cast your ballot.

U.S. Senate Races

Both of Georgia's U.S. Senate seats, currently held by Republicans, are also on the ballot, and experts said one or both races could go to runoffs next month.

Sen. David Perdue appeared with Trump on Sunday, instead of attending the last scheduled Senate debate. Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff's attacks against Perdue during Wednesday's debate went viral, and Perdue backed out of the final debate the next day.

"It's not just that you're a crook, Senator," Ossoff said, referring to Perdue's controversial stock trades (the senator has denied wrongdoing, saying that all transactions are handled by a third-party investment adviser). "It's that you're attacking the health of the people that you represent."

Ossoff denounced Perdue for voting four times to allow health insurance companies to forgo coverage of pre-existing conditions like asthma.

Perdue accused Ossoff of being a "rubber stamp" for liberals' wishes and of hiding his true "radical socialist agenda."

Perdue has a large lead over Ossoff, although the race had not been called as of Wednesday morning.

In false ads that have deluged Georgia TV markets, Perdue accused Ossoff of wanting to defund the police and said the Democrat receives support from the Communist Party USA. Ossoff has said he does not want to defund the police and the claim about the Communist Party USA is "flatly false," the Associated Press has previously reported.

Sen. Kelly Loeffler will head to a January runoff election, where she will face Democrat Raphael Warnock.

Read more: GA Senate Elections: Warnock, Loeffler In Runoff; Perdue Leads

Top Congressional Races

Two races for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are a contrast in Georgia's past struggles for civil rights and the shift by some in the Republican Party to court supporters in the murky world of social media.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, the presumptive winner of a U.S. Congressional seat on Tuesday, has drawn national fire for supporting QAnon conspiracy theories, yet she appears almost certain to win. Her only Democratic challenger dropped out of the race in September.

Last month, Greene endorsed Loeffler.

Loeffler cited her opposition to abortion and her support of 2nd Amendment rights as other traits she shared with Greene. "And just like Marjorie, I've taken on the radical left, cancel culture and fake news media — and won," Loeffler said.

Over the summer, Georgia Republicans distanced themselves from Greene after Politico discovered Facebook videos showing her expressing Islamophobic and anti-Semitic opinions. Still, Greene handily won the Republican nomination in an August runoff to represent Georgia's 14th Congressional District.

Another race to watch is the 5th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, which had been held by the late civil rights icon John Lewis. Lewis died from pancreatic cancer in July.

Republican Angela Stanton-King is running against Democrat Nikema Williams.

President Trump pardoned Stanton-King in February for her role in a car theft ring that led to a 2004 conviction on federal conspiracy charges and two years in prison, reported WABE.

Since King’s release from prison in 2005, the celebrated owner of Stanton Publishing House and Reality TV star of the BET Network docu-series “From the Bottom Up” has formed several organizations dedicated to reforming the criminal justice system and supporting returning citizens, according to her biography.

A special election in December will choose who fills Lewis' seat through the end of 2020.

This article originally appeared on the Across Georgia Patch