Georgia's secretary of state promises a recount

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger

(Image credit: Megan Varner/Getty Images)

last updated 6 November 2020

Democratic nominee Joe Biden may be in the lead in Georgia, but a win is still uncertain — and likely will be for a while.

After close to three days of counting votes in the traditionally red state, Biden's vote tally exceeded President Trump's for the first time. And with just a small number of ballots left to count, it seems the Democrat will remain on top. Still, Biden's tiny lead will certainly be subject to a second look, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) said Friday in announcing a recount.

Raffensperger's announcement isn't surprising given that with just a small number of votes left to count at 10:30 a.m. EDT, Biden only had a 1,579-vote lead over Trump. That's less than a 0.1 percent advantage. Candidates can request a recount if the margin between the candidates is less than 0.5 percent, as can election superintendents. And given that Trump's campaign has challenged vote counting in every close state so far, it's likely it'll demand recounts wherever it can as well.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

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