Masked workers start presidential hand tally in Georgia
Officials sort ballots during an audit at the Floyd County administration building in Rome, Ga. on Friday morning, Nov. 13, 2020. Election officials in Georgias 159 counties are undertaking a hand tally of the presidential race that stems from an audit required by state law. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)ATLANTA โ Masked election workers in teams of two began counting ballots Friday in counties across Georgia, a hand tally of the presidential race that stems from an audit required by a new state law. Across the state, audit teams worked with batches of paper ballots, dividing them into piles for each candidate, before counting each pile by hand. But critics have accused him of caving to Trump after the president's campaign and state Republicans requested a hand recount.
EXPLAINER: Why AP hasn't called Georgia's close race
(AP Photo/John Bazemore)WASHINGTON โ WHY AP HASN'T CALLED GEORGIA'S CLOSE RACEA razor-thin margin and ongoing vote count are whatโs making the Georgia contest between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden too early to call. Under Georgia state law, a candidate can request a recount if the margin is within 0.5 percentage points. The initial margins in those races were 137 votes, 215 votes and 261 votes. Among all 31 recounts, the largest shift in results was 0.1%, in the 2006 race for Vermontโs Auditor of Accounts. Trump and Biden were locked in a tight contest Friday to secure the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.
RESULTS 2020 UPDATES: Trump again seeks to stop vote count; Biden urges calm
The nation is waiting to learn whether Biden or Trump will collect the 270 electoral votes needed to capture the presidency. As the hearing unfolded Thursday evening, President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden were locked in a tight battle for the 20 electoral votes in Pennsylvania. But President Donald Trump is renewing his unfounded claims that Democrats are trying to โstealโ the election from him. The presidential race has not yet been called because neither Trump nor Biden has yet collected the requisite 270 Electoral College votes. AP executive editor Sally Buzbee says: โThe Associated Press continues to watch and analyze vote count results from Arizona.
Georgia breaks turnout record for first day of early voting
ATLANTA โ More than 128,000 Georgians went to the polls Monday, a record for the first day of early voting in the state, according to the secretary of state's office. Election officials and advocacy groups have been pushing people to vote early, either in person or by absentee ballot, in anticipation of record turnout and concerns about coronavirus exposure. โGreat enthusiasm on the first day of voting leading to long lines does not necessarily mean there's a systemic problem. โIt is possible, of course, these measures will ultimately prove insufficient and long lines will still arise,โ he wrote. Determining the precise details of election administration is the responsibility of state and local election officials, Totenberg wrote.