Georgia certifies Biden victory despite Republican pressure

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger makes verification despite coming under intense pressure from his own party

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said his motto is that numbers don't lie. AP 

Georgia’s Republican secretary of state on Friday officially certified that President-elect Joe Biden had narrowly won the state – the first time a Democrat has done so since 1992.

The confirmation comes after a recount by hand saw Mr Biden win by a margin of about 12,800 votes.

The certification leaves the US election results map looking like this:

Brad Raffensperger made the certification despite coming under intense pressure from senators in his own party, while President Donald Trump continues to push unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud and refuses to concede the election.

He even fired his homeland security official Chris Krebs for daring to question his narrative.

“Working as an engineer throughout my life, I live by the motto that numbers don’t lie,” said Mr Raffensperger.

“As secretary of state, I believe that the numbers that we have presented today are correct. The numbers reflect the verdict of the people, not a decision by the secretary of state’s office or of the courts or of either campaign.”

Mr Raffensperger had accused Senator Lindsey Graham of asking him to invalidate legally cast absentee ballots to tip the state in the Republicans’ favour – charges that Mr Graham has denied.

The secretary of state has also come under fire from Georgia’s two Republican senators – David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, both of whom are facing Democrat challengers in two January run-off elections that will decide which party controls the Senate next year.

Mr Perdue and Ms Loeffler called on Mr Raffensperger to resign earlier this month, alleging that he “failed to deliver honest and transparent elections” without offering evidence to back up their claims. Mr Raffensperger called their allegations “laughable”.

Mr Biden won the state by approximately 14,000 votes. Now that Mr Raffensperger has certified the results, the Trump campaign has two business days to request a recount.

A major 'get out the vote' drive by Fair Fight Action, a non-profit organisation founded by Stacey Abrams to advocate for changes in voter registration and turnout, is largely credited with mobilising enough Democratic support to propel Mr Biden to victory in Georgia.

Other states that have not finalised election tallies:

• Pennsylvania
• Michigan
• Nevada
• Arizona
• Wisconsin