There will end up being a recount in Georgia no matter who ends up winning the state, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Friday.
Former Vice President Joe Biden overtook President Donald Trump’s lead in the state in the early hours of Friday morning. Biden currently leads by roughly 1,500 votes. (RELATED: Biden Catches Trump, Takes Overnight Leads In Georgia And Pennsylvania)
“With a margin that small, there will be a recount in Georgia. Interest in our election obviously goes far beyond Georgia’s borders. The final tally in Georgia at this point has huge implications for the entire country,” Raffensperger said at a press conference. “The stakes are high and emotions are high on all sides. We will not let hose debates distract us from our work. We will get it right and we will defend the integrity of our elections.”
Raffensperger also addressed the complaints in some states “about monitors not being allowed to watch the count.”
“In Georgia, this process is and will remain open and transparent to monitors. If any member of the public raises legitimate concerns, we will investigate those,” he clarified. “We are committed to doing anything and everything to maintaining trust in our election process for every Georgian regardless of partisan preference.”
WATCH:
“With a margin that small, there will be a recount,” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says, as race between Biden and Trump is down to thousands of votes
“The final tally in Georgia at this point has huge implications for the entire country” https://t.co/fxHKy8hSEp pic.twitter.com/um03Yn3unW
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 6, 2020
Speaking Thursday in Delaware, Biden stated adamantly that when “the count is finished, Senator Harris and I will be declared winners.”
“In America, the vote is sacred. It’s how people of this nation express their will, and it is the will of the voters,” he told reporters. “No one, not anything else that chooses the president of the United States of America, so each ballot must be counted, and that’s what we’re going to see going through now, and that’s how it should be.”
“I ask everyone to stay calm — all people to stay calm,” Biden added. “The process is working. The count is being completed, and we’ll know very soon.”
WATCH:
The Trump campaign previously filed a motion Wednesday for a recount in Wisconsin.