(The Center Square) – By 5 p.m. Tuesday, all 159 counties in Georgia were to have certified their election results.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger applauded the counties at a press conference for their hard work to meet that deadline.
“Today, counties across Georgia will reconfirm the will of Georgia voters with county certifications,” said Raffensperger.
With all precincts reporting in the Peach State, former President Donald Trump received 50.74% of the vote to Vice President Kamala Harris’ 48.52%. Two third-party candidates garnered just 0.74%.
Georgia counties had record voter turnout, both in early voting and on Election Day. Of the state’s nearly 7.3 million voters, 5.3 million voted (72.7% turnout) in the general election.
Raffensperger said he was grateful the system worked so smoothly, praising recent election measures.
“Georgia had the most secure, free, fair and fast elections in the United States,” he said. “Over the last six years, we have made many improvements to increase security and accessibility for voters, while at the same time, improve the voter experience with short lines and fast results. I delivered on that promise, and voters responded one week ago with record turnout.”
In 2020, Georgia was not called until 16 days after the election, due to legal challenges and a hand recount.
No such election drama is expected this year, with Raffensperger saying all the counties are in “good shape” to certify election results.
Candidates have until Thursday at 5 p.m. to request a recount, with the state certifying the election results by Nov. 22.
Raffensperger said he expects no hiccups in the state’s certification process, especially with Trump leading the presidential race by nearly 117,000 votes.
“Whether people like them or not, those results were very conclusive,” he said. “We fully expect that people will accept the results. I think that’d be a healthy thing for our republic.”
After extensive drama and legal action surrounding the Georgia State Election Board in the months leading up to the election, Raffensperger, a Republican, said he is happy with the election measures that were implemented.
“Election integrity doesn’t happen just in the 11th hour … it is planned years in advance,” he said. “That is why I led the effort to ensure that only American citizens vote in our elections, and why I fought for election security to add photo ID for all forms of voting here in Georgia. I ran on that, and I delivered.”
He also responded to Democrats’ claims that those regulations will hinder voting.
“I have a very direct message for you, citizens will not be fearful coming out to vote,” Raffensperger said.
