Georgia election official says "we will know the final universe of numbers by today"
Joe Biden leads Georgia by a razor-thin margin of 1,585 votes, but incoming ballots could still sway final results, according to state election officials. The state's total number of ballots is expected to be known by the end of Friday.
"We will know the final universe of numbers by today," said state election official Gabriel Sterling at a press conference Friday afternoon.
"Yes, Biden's ahead by 1,585 votes, that could change in the next few days given the universe of votes that are out there," Sterling said. "He could extend his lead, it could stay the same, or President Trump could come back into the lead. There's still time and a universe of ballots that could allow for that."
At least 4,000 ballots are left to be counted in the state, as well as 18,000 outstanding overseas and military ballots that would have to arrive today to be counted, and 13,012 provisional ballots that still need to be reviewed.
Georgia counts for 16 electoral votes. Biden currently leads with 253 votes, just 17 away from victory, while Mr. Trump trails with 213.
Raffensberger told reporters earlier that a recount is likely due to the small margin between Biden and Mr. Trump, who both have 49.4% of the vote with 95% of the ballots counted. The state allows a recount if the difference between the candidates is under 0.5%.
"This process is and will remain open and transparent to monitors," Raffensberger said.
Biden pulled ahead in the state by a narrow margin of just over 1,500 votes as of Friday morning.
Gabriel Sterling, the state's Voting System Implementation Manager, told reporters there were 4,169 outstanding ballots in the state. Sterling also emphasized that the count would be thorough and transparent.
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