Georgia Recount Likely With Such Small Margin Between Biden And Trump, Officials Say

As Joe Biden takes a razor-thin lead over Donald Trump, election officials say they expect a recount to be called. Georgia’s secretary of state Brad Raffensperger told reporters today that while state laws mandate a delay between results and any recount request, the margin of victory will likely be close enough to allow for one.

“As we are closing in on a final count, we can begin to look toward our next steps. With a margin that small, there will be a recount in Georgia,” he said, NPR reports.

Before a recount can be initiated the campaigns will have to wait for a risk limitation audit and a completed state certification which should be finished by Nov. 20.

It would take a dramatic shift at the very last moment to avoid a recount. Georgia state law allows for a recount if the candidates are within 0.5% of each other. As of Friday at 5 p.m. EST, Associated Press has Biden ahead by 4,235 ballots with 49.4% of the vote while Trump has 49.3%. and 99% of the ballots counted.

The presidential race isn’t the only close fight. It seems likely that the Georgia Senate race will also enter a runoff. The balance of the Senate is as precarious as the presidency, with incumbent Sen. David Perdue barely missing the 50% benchmark he needs to avoid a further challenge.

“This race is headed to a runoff," his democratic challenger Jon Ossoff said Friday. “We have all the momentum, we have all the energy, we're on the right side of history. Y'all ready to work? We're just getting started.”

It’s incredible that Georgia is in play at all. Just a few years ago Georgia was a lock for conservatives, but Stacey Abrams shattered that assumption in 2018 by almost taking the governor’s seat.

Since then, she’s gone even further to bring out the vote, challenge voter suppression laws and convince Democrats to invest in the state. Demographic change and increasing turnout have been giving minority and youth populations an increasing voice in the state. It’s Abrams’ efforts that led heavyweights like Joe Biden and Barack Obama to make visits to the state.