Georgia set to reaffirm Biden's victory for 3rd time after recount, dealing major blow to Trump's attempt to overturn the results
CNN/Stylemagazine.com Newswire | 12/7/2020, 11:38 a.m.
By Chandelis Duster, CNN
(CNN) -- Georgia is set to recertify its presidential election results on Monday, which will again find Joe Biden as the winner following three counts of ballots, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said.
News of the recertification is a yet another blow to President Donald Trump, who has for weeks baselessly claimed a "rigged" election in the state and attacked election officials for not overturning the results in his favor. Monday's certification will lock in the state's results for Biden before the December 14 Electoral College vote, though Trump has continued to inveigh against Raffensperger, a Republican, and called for additional signature verification -- which is, at this point, procedurally impossible.
"We have now counted legally cast ballots three times and the results remain unchanged," Raffensperger said during a press conference Monday morning. "Whether it is the President of the United States or a failed gubernatorial candidate, disinformation regarding election administration should be condemned and rejected. Integrity matters. Truth matters."
He continued, "Today, the secretary of state's office will be recertifying our state's election results. Then the safe harbor, under the United States code to name electors, is tomorrow, and then they will meet on December 14 to officially elect the next President."
Biden won the state with more than 12,000 votes, becoming the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the Peach State in nearly three decades. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp certified the results of Biden's victory on November 20, following a statewide audit, which included a hand-count of the nearly 5 million ballots cast in the election.
Georgia officials, including Raffensperger, have disputed Trump's claims of widespread voter fraud, and on Monday, the secretary of state again said misinformation being spread about the state's election is hurting the state.
"Continuing to make debunked claims of a stolen election is hurting our state," Raffensperger said. "The President has his due process rights and those are available to him. It's time we all focus on the future and growth."