Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp Certifies Election, Cementing Biden Victory

Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and election officials certified the results Friday of the election in Georgia, establishing President-elect Joe Biden as the victor in the state by a razor thin margin, numerous sources reported.

Biden won the state by 12,670 votes and officially carried the 16 electoral votes after repeated claims from President Donald Trump that the election was rife with voter fraud. Kemp said that the Trump campaign can now pursue other legal options and a recount if they choose, according to the New York Times (NYT). 

Kemp did not acknowledge Biden as the winner in a speech about the certification, but fixated on the discrepancies discovered while the state’s 5 million ballots were recounted. The recount showed that Biden had received slightly fewer votes than he did in the initial count.

“We demand complete explanations for all discrepancies identified so that our citizens will have complete confidence in our elections,” Kemp said, according to NYT. 

Trump can still request a recount after the certification of the results, which would be conducted by rescanning all paper ballots since the difference between the two candidates is less than 0.5%, according to a release from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said Thursday during a press conference that the campaign would be filing a new suit in Georgia. The former New York City mayor said the recount “means nothing” because alleged fraudulent ballots will be recounted.  (RELATED: Georgia Completes Recount, Affirms Biden Lead)

The announcement that the election had been certified Friday afternoon came after a premature announcement that was made when the “wrong press release” was sent by a staffer, the Times reported.