[ad_1]
(CNN) Georgia will hold another recount of its presidential ballots following a Trump campaign request on Saturday.
“Because the margin is still less than 0.5%, the president can request a recount after the certification of the results. That recount will be carried out by re-scanning all the paper ballots,” the secretary had previously said. Georgia State Attorney Brad Raffensperger in a statement Friday after a state audit of the presidential results had been completed.
President-elect Joe Biden, who was declared the winner Friday when the state certified the results, has a 12,670 vote or .2% advantage over President Donald Trump in Georgia.
Georgia already conducted an audit of the presidential ballots, which means that all the ballots in the presidential race were counted a second time, which was a de facto count.
Under Georgia law, the Trump campaign had two business days from Friday’s certification to request the recount, which will be funded by taxpayers.
“Today, the Trump campaign filed a recount petition in Georgia. We are focused on ensuring that all aspects of Georgia state law and the United States Constitution are followed so that every legal vote is counted. President Trump and his campaign continue to insist on an honest count in Georgia, which has to include signature matching and other vital safeguards, “the Trump campaign said in a statement.
However, signature matching for mailed ballots is not done in recounts, according to CNN contributor Jonathan Diaz, campaign law expert. The comparison of the signatures on the mail ballot envelopes with those on file is done early in the process. The Trump campaign was upset that no more ballots were thrown out due to signature issues.
Diaz said that “no recount is going to change” the margin of more than 12,000 votes.
“It doesn’t make sense for them to do so, apart from continuing to lengthen this process and cause further delays,” Diaz said. “It’s a silly moment,” he said of the recount request. “The war is over.”
This story was first published on CNN.com, “Georgia to Recount After Trump’s Campaign Request.”
[ad_2]