Georgia Secretary of State Ben Raffensperger holds a press conference on the status of ballot counting on November 6, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Jessica McGowan | Getty Images
The secretary of state of Georgia on Friday officially certified the results of its presidential election race, confirming that President-elect Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump.
That outcome was expected after hand ballot recount on Thursday confirmed the victory of Biden, the Democratic former vice president.
“I believe that the numbers that we have presented today are correct,” said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger earlier Friday.
“The numbers reflect the will of the people,” said Raffensperger, who like Trump is a Republican.
Biden won 49.5% of Georgia’s votes, compared to 49.3% for Trump, according to the current official tallies. The margin of victory for Biden was almost exactly 12,000 votes.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks during a drive-in campaign rally in the parking lot of Cellairis Ampitheatre on October 27, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Drew Angerer | Getty Images
Trump has refused to concede that Biden defeated him in the national popular vote total, and that Biden has secured more than enough votes in the Electoral College to win the White House.
Georgia would give Biden 16 electoral votes. Biden currently is projected to receive 306 electoral votes, 36 more than he needs.
Trump’s campaign has until the close of business on Tuesday to seek a machine recount of the ballots cast in the Peach State.
Raffensperger’s office sent out a news release earlier Friday incorrectly stating that he had already certified the results. The office later sent out a press release saying he “will certify” the results Friday. And then later in the day it sent a third notice saying that the certification had been done.
This story has been updated to reflect the correction and final certification notice issued by the office of Georgia’s secretary of state.