2020 United States presidential election in Georgia

Summary

The 2020 United States presidential election in Georgia was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated.[2] Georgia voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party's nominee, incumbent President Donald Trump of Florida, and running mate Vice President Mike Pence of Indiana against Democratic Party nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden of Delaware, and his running mate Senator Kamala Harris of California. Georgia has 16 electoral votes in the Electoral College.[3]

2020 United States presidential election in Georgia

← 2016 November 3, 2020 2024 →
Turnout66.2%[1] Increase 6.1 pp
 
Nominee Joe Biden Donald Trump
Party Democratic Republican
Home state Delaware Florida
Running mate Kamala Harris Mike Pence
Electoral vote 16 0
Popular vote 2,473,633 2,461,854
Percentage 49.47% 49.24%


President before election

Donald Trump
Republican

Elected President

Joe Biden
Democratic

Biden narrowly won Georgia by a margin of 0.23% and 11,779 votes. Leading up to the election, Georgia was seen as a key swing state in both the presidential and senatorial elections—both a regular Class II U.S. Senate election and a special election—due to the rapid growth and diversification of Atlanta's suburbs, where Republicans were once dominant. Polls of the state throughout the campaign indicated a close race, and prior to election day, most news organizations considered Georgia a toss-up. This was the only state in the Deep South carried by Biden, made possible by significant demographic shifts over the previous decade, especially in Metro Atlanta.[4] While Georgia still has a relative GOP lean at the state level, the explosive growth of its capital city and surrounding suburbs has shifted it into a swing state at the federal level.

Like in other states, Trump had an early lead on election night due to the state counting in-person votes first on that day, before counting mail-in ballots over the following days. Biden subsequently cut into Trump's margin over the course of the week and eventually overtook Trump on Friday morning. Although majority-minority Burke County—near Augusta—flipped to Trump after supporting Hillary Clinton in 2016, Biden was able to build Clinton's vote shares in the densely populated Metro Atlanta counties of Gwinnett, Cobb, and Henry, increasing her vote shares of 50%, 48%, and 50% to 58%, 56%, and 60%, respectively–in all three cases, the best showing for a non-Georgian Democrat since John F. Kennedy in the 1960 election.

Biden became the first Democrat to carry the state since Bill Clinton in 1992;[5] the first to win a statewide election in Georgia since 2006;[6] the first to carry a state in the Deep South since Bill Clinton carried Louisiana in 1996; and the first to gain over 70% of the vote in Fulton County since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944. He was also the first non-Southern Democrat to carry a state in the Deep South since Kennedy in 1960.

Due to the close margins in the initial election results, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced on November 11 that a recount by hand would be conducted.[7] The recount was completed on November 18,[8][9] and Biden was confirmed to be the winner on November 19.[10]

Trump would engage in unsuccessful attempts to overturn the results, challenging Raffensperger in a widely publicized phone call to "find" 11,780 more votes. Actions taken by Trump allies in Georgia, including a scheme to send fake electors to Congress, are currently under criminal investigation, which has thus far led to a criminal indictment against Trump and his allies.

Primary elections edit

The presidential preference primary was originally scheduled for March 24, 2020. On March 14, it was moved to May 19 due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] On April 9, the preference primary was again rescheduled to June 9, being combined with the regular, usually-separate primary for other federal and state primaries as well as local elections in some counties, the first time in Georgia history that all primaries were combined on the same date.[12] Secretary of State Raffensperger approved sending out absentee ballot application forms to 6.9 million active voters for the combined primary, of which 1.1 million absentee ballots were requested. The total turnout for the combined primary was the highest since the 2008 presidential primary, and broke the record for most absentee ballots cast in a Georgia primary.

Republican primary edit

Incumbent President Donald Trump ran unopposed in the Republican primary and thus received all of Georgia's 76 delegates to the 2020 Republican National Convention.[13]

2020 Georgia Republican presidential primary
Candidate Votes % Delegates
Donald Trump 947,352 100 76
Total 947,352 100.00 76

Democratic primary edit

2020 Georgia Democratic presidential primary[14]
Candidate Votes % Delegates[15]
Joe Biden 922,177 84.86 105
Bernie Sanders (withdrawn) 101,668 9.36
Elizabeth Warren (withdrawn) 21,906 2.02
Andrew Yang (withdrawn) 9,117 0.84
Michael Bloomberg (withdrawn) 7,657 0.70
Pete Buttigieg (withdrawn) 6,346 0.58
Michael Bennet (withdrawn) 5,154 0.47
Amy Klobuchar (withdrawn) 4,317 0.40
Tulsi Gabbard (withdrawn) 4,117 0.38
Tom Steyer (withdrawn) 1,752 0.16
John Delaney (withdrawn) 1,476 0.14
Deval Patrick (withdrawn) 1,042 0.10
Total 1,086,729 100% 105

General election edit

Final predictions edit

Source Ranking
The Cook Political Report[16] Tossup
Inside Elections[17] Tilt D (flip)
Sabato's Crystal Ball[18] Lean D (flip)
Politico[19] Tossup
RCP[20] Tossup
Niskanen[21] Tossup
CNN[22] Tossup
The Economist[23] Tossup
CBS News[24] Tossup
270towin[25] Tossup
ABC News[26] Lean D (flip)
NPR[27] Tossup
NBC News[28] Tossup
538[29] Tossup

Polling edit

Graphical summary

Aggregate polls
Source of poll
aggregation
Dates
administered
Dates
updated
Joe
Biden

Democratic
Donald
Trump

Republican
Other/
Undecided
[a]
Margin
270 to Win Oct 29 – Nov 2, 2020 November 3, 2020 47.6% 47.4% 5.0% Biden +0.2
Real Clear Politics Oct 23 – Nov 2, 2020 November 3, 2020 47.2% 48.2% 4.6% Trump +1.0
FiveThirtyEight until November 2, 2020 November 3, 2020 48.5% 47.4% 4.1% Biden +1.2
Average 47.8% 47.7% 4.6% Biden +0.1

Polls

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[b]
Margin
of error
Donald
Trump

Republican
Joe
Biden

Democratic
Jo
Jorgensen

Libertarian
Other Undecided
Trafalgar Group Oct 31 – Nov 2, 2020 1,041 (LV) ± 2.96% 50% 45% 3% 1%[c] 1%
SurveyMonkey/Axios Oct 20 – Nov 2, 2020 3,962 (LV) ± 2.5% 48%[d] 50%
Landmark Communications/WSBTV Nov 1, 2020 500 (LV) ± 4.4% 50% 46% 3% 1%
Insider Advantage/Center for American Greatness Archived November 2, 2020, at the Wayback Machine[A] Nov 1, 2020 500 (LV) ± 4.4% 48% 46% 4% 2%
AYTM/Aspiration Oct 30 – Nov 1, 2020 380 (LV) 48% 52%
Swayable Archived November 13, 2020, at the Wayback Machine Oct 27 – Nov 1, 2020 438 (LV) ± 6.2% 44% 54% 2%
Data for Progress Oct 27 – Nov 1, 2020 1,036 (LV) ± 3% 48% 50% 1% 0%[e]
AtlasIntel Oct 30–31, 2020 679 (LV) ± 4% 48% 46% 6%
Emerson College Oct 29–31, 2020 749 (LV) ± 3.5% 49%[f] 48% 2%[g]
Morning Consult Oct 22–31, 2020 1,743 (LV) ± 2.0% 46% 49%
Landmark Communications/WSBTV Oct 28, 2020 750 (LV) ± 3.6% 48% 47% 3% 3%
Public Policy Polling Oct 27–28, 2020 661 (V) 46% 48% 4%[h] 2%
SurveyMonkey/Axios Oct 1–28, 2020 7,019 (LV) 48% 50%
Monmouth University Oct 23–27, 2020 504 (RV) ± 4.4% 45% 50% 2% 1%[i] 2%
504 (LV) 46%[j] 50%
48%[k] 50%
Swayable Oct 23–26, 2020 373 (LV) ± 6.9% 48% 51% 1%
Civiqs/Daily Kos Oct 23–26, 2020 1,041 (LV) ± 3.3% 46% 51% 2%[g] 0%
Wick Surveys Oct 24–25, 2020 1,000 (LV) ± 3.1% 49% 47%
YouGov/CBS Oct 20–23, 2020 1,090 (LV) ± 3.4% 49% 49% 2%[l] 0%
University of Georgia/AJC Oct 14–23, 2020 1,145 (LV) ± 4% 46% 47% 3% 4%
Landmark Communications/WSBTV Oct 21, 2020 500 (LV) ± 4.4% 49% 45% 4%
Citizen Data Oct 17–20, 2020 1,000 (LV) ± 3% 44% 48% 1% 2%[m] 5%
Morning Consult Oct 11–20, 2020 1,672 (LV) ± 2.4% 48% 48%
Emerson College Oct 17–19, 2020 506 (LV) ± 4.3% 48%[f] 47% 5%[n]
Siena College/NYT Upshot Oct 13–19, 2020 759 (LV) ± 4.1% 45% 45% 2% 2%[o] 7%[p]
Opinion Insight/American Action Forum[B] Oct 12–15, 2020 801 (LV) ± 3.46% 46%[f] 49% 3%[q] 4%[p]
Garin-Hart-Yang/Jon Ossoff[C] Oct 11–14, 2020 600 (LV) 44% 51%
Quinnipiac University Oct 8–12, 2020 1,040 (LV) ± 3.0% 44% 51% 1%[c] 4%
SurveyUSA Oct 8–12, 2020 677 (LV) ± 5.7% 46% 48% 2%[r] 4%
Data for Progress Oct 8–11, 2020 782 (LV) ± 3.5% 46% 46% 2% 1%[s] 5%
Morning Consult Oct 2–11, 2020 1,837 (LV) ± 2.3% 49% 47%
Public Policy Polling Oct 8–9, 2020 528 (V) ± 4.3% 46% 47% 3%[t] 3%
Landmark Communications Oct 7, 2020 600 (LV) ± 4.0% 48.6% 46.8% 0.7% 3.9%
YouGov/CCES Archived November 1, 2020, at the Wayback Machine Sep 29 – Oct 7, 2020 1,456 (LV) 47% 48%
University of Georgia/AJC Sep 27 – Oct 6, 2020 1,106 (LV) ± 2.9% 47% 46% 3% 3%
Landmark Communications/WSB Sep 30, 2020 500 (LV) ± 4% 45% 47% 3%
SurveyMonkey/Tableau Sep 1–30, 2020 3,468 (LV) 48% 49% 2%
Civiqs/Daily Kos Sep 26–29, 2020 969 (LV) ± 3.5% 47% 50% 2%[g] 1%
Hart Research Associates/Human Rights Campaign[D] Sep 24–27, 2020 400 (LV) ± 4.9% 47% 50%
Quinnipiac University Sep 23–27, 2020 1,125 (LV) ± 2.9% 47% 50% 1%[c] 2%
Redfield & Wilton Strategies Sep 23–26, 2020 789 (LV) ± 3.49% 44% 45% 2% 1%[u] 8%
YouGov/CBS Sep 22–25, 2020 1,164 (LV) ± 3.4% 47% 46% 2%[g] 5%
Monmouth University Sep 17–21, 2020 402 (RV) ± 4.9% 47% 46% 2% 0%[v] 4%
402 (LV) 48%[j] 46% 2% 4%
50%[k] 45% 1% 3%
Siena College/NYT Upshot Sep 16–21, 2020 523 (LV) ± 4.9% 45% 45% 2% 0%[w] 8%[p]
University of Georgia/AJC Sep 11–20, 2020 1,150 (LV) ± 4% 47% 47% 1% 4%
Data for Progress (D) Sep 14–19, 2020 800 (LV) ± 3.5% 45%[x] 45% 1% 0%[y] 8%
46%[z] 46% 8%
GBAO Strategies/Warnock for Georgia[E] Sep 14–16, 2020 600 (LV) ± 4% 46% 49%
Redfield & Wilton Strategies Sep 12–16, 2020 800 (LV) ± 3.46% 46% 45% 2% 1%[u] 6%
Morning Consult Aug 29 – Sep 7, 2020 1,486 (LV) ± (2%–4%) 48%[aa] 46%
Fabrizio Ward/Hart Research Associates/AARP Aug 30 – Sep 5, 2020 800 (LV) ± 3.5% 46% 47% 1%[ab] 6%
Opinion Insight/American Action Forum[B] Aug 30 – Sep 2, 2020 800 (LV) ± 3.46% 46%[f] 47% 2% 1%[ac] 4%
Landmark Communications/WSB Aug 29–31, 2020 500 (LV) ± 4.4% 48% 41% 2% 9%
SurveyMonkey/Tableau Aug 1–31, 2020 2,772 (LV) 49% 49% 2%
Morning Consult Aug 21–30, 2020 1,392 (LV) ± (2%–4%) 46% 49%
HarrisX/Matt Lieberman[F] Aug 20–30, 2020 1,616 (RV) ± 2.4% 46% 52% 2%[ad]
PPP/Fair Fight Action[G] Aug 24–25, 2020 782 (V) ± 3.5% 46% 47% 6%
Morning Consult Aug 7–16, 2020 1,265 (LV) ± (2%–4%) 47% 46%
Landmark Communications Aug 14–15, 2020 500 (LV) ± 4.4% 48% 45% 4% 3%
SurveyUSA Aug 6–8, 2020 623 (LV) ± 5.3% 44% 46% 4%[ae] 6%
YouGov/CBS Jul 28–31, 2020 1,109 (LV) ± 3.4% 45% 46% 3%[af] 5%
HIT Strategies/DFER[H] Jul 23–31, 2020 400 (RV) ± 4.9% 40% 44% 6%[ag] 10%[p]
SurveyMonkey/Tableau Jul 1–31, 2020 3,745 (LV) 53% 45% 2%
Monmouth University Jul 23–27, 2020 402 (RV) ± 2% 47% 47% 3% 3%
402 (LV) 48%[j] 47% 2% 3%
49%[k] 46% 2% 4%
Morning Consult Jul 17–26, 2020 1,337 (LV) ± 2.7% 46% 47%
Public Policy Polling/AFSCME[I] Jul 23–24, 2020 722 (V) 45% 46% 9%
Trafalgar Group Jul 15–18, 2020 1,023 (LV) ± 3.0% 50% 43% 2% 2%[ah] 2%
Spry Strategies/American Principles Project[J] Jul 11–16, 2020 700 (LV) ± 3.7% 49% 46% 5%
Garin-Hart-Yang/Jon Ossoff[C] Jul 9–15, 2020 800 (LV) ± 3.5% 43% 47% 10%
Gravis Marketing/OANN Jul 2, 2020 513 (LV) ± 4.3% 48% 45% - 8%
SurveyMonkey/Tableau Jun 8–30, 2020 2,059 (LV) 49% 49% 2%
Public Policy Polling/End Citizens United[K] Jun 25–26, 2020 734 (RV) ± 3.6% 45% 49% - 6%
Fox News Jun 20–23, 2020 1,013 (RV) ± 3.0% 45% 47% - 4%[ai] 5%
Public Policy Polling Jun 12–13, 2020 661 (V) ± 3.4% 46% 48% - 6%
TargetSmart May 21–27, 2020 321 (RV) ± 5.5% 44% 40% - 10%[aj] 6%
Morning Consult May 17–26, 2020 1,396 (LV) 49% 47%
Civiqs/Daily Kos May 16–18, 2020 1,339 (RV) ± 3.1% 47% 48% - 3%[t] 2%
The Progress Campaign (D)[1] May 6–15, 2020 2,893 (LV) ± 2% 47% 47% - 6%[ak]
BK Strategies/Republican State Leadership Committee[L] May 11–13, 2020 700 (LV) ± 3.7% 48% 46% -
Public Opinion Strategies (R) May 4–7, 2020 500 (LV) ± 4.38% 46% 47% - 7%[al]
Cygnal/David Ralston[2][M] Apr 25–27, 2020 591 (LV) ± 4.0% 45% 44% - 7% 5%
Battleground Connect/Doug Collins for Senate[N] Mar 31 – Apr 1, 2020 1,035 (LV) ± 3.0% 48% 46% - 6%
The Progress Campaign (D) Mar 12–21, 2020 3,042 (RV) ± 4.5% 49% 47% - 4%
University of Georgia Feb 24 – Mar 2, 2020 1,117 (LV) ± 2.9% 51% 43% - 4% 2%
Mason-Dixon Dec 19–23, 2019 625 (RV) ± 4.0% 51% 44% - 5%
SurveyUSA Nov 15–18, 2019 1,303 (LV) ± 3.2% 43% 47% - 10%
Climate Nexus Nov 4–10, 2019 688 (LV) 47% 48% - 5%
University of Georgia Oct 30 – Nov 8, 2019 1,028 (RV) ± 3% 43% 51% - 3% 4%[am]
Zogby Analytics Oct 28–30, 2019 550 (LV) ± 4.2% 44% 46% - 11%
Former candidates

Donald Trump vs. Michael Bloomberg

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[b]
Margin
of error
Donald
Trump (R)
Michael
Bloomberg (D)
Other Undecided
University of Georgia Feb 24 – Mar 2, 2019 1,117 (LV) ± 2.9% 50% 42% 6% 3%
SurveyUSA Nov 15–18, 2019 1,303 (LV) ± 3.2% 44% 42% - 14%

Donald Trump vs. Pete Buttigieg

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[b]
Margin
of error
Donald
Trump (R)
Pete
Buttigieg (D)
Other Undecided
Mason-Dixon Dec 19–23, 2019 625 (RV) ± 4.0% 52% 43% - 5%
SurveyUSA/WXIA-TV Nov 15–18, 2019 1,303 (LV) ± 3.2% 45% 41% - 14%
Climate Nexus Nov 4–10, 2019 688 (LV) 49% 42% 9%
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Oct 30 – Nov 8, 2019 1,028 (RV) ± 3% 43% 46% 4% 5%[an]
Zogby Analytics Oct 28–30, 2019 550 (LV) ± 4.2% 45% 38% - 17%

Donald Trump vs. Kamala Harris

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[b]
Margin
of error
Donald
Trump (R)
Kamala
Harris (D)
Other Undecided
SurveyUSA/WXIA-TV Nov 15–18, 2019 1,303 (LV) ± 3.2% 46% 43% - 11%
Climate Nexus Nov 4–10, 2019 688 (LV) 49% 44% 7%
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Oct 30 – Nov 8, 2019 1,028 (RV) ± 3% 44% 45% 4% 7%[ao]
Zogby Analytics Oct 28–30, 2019 550 (LV) ± 4.2% 44% 42% - 14%

Donald Trump vs. Bernie Sanders

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[b]
Margin
of error
Donald
Trump (R)
Bernie
Sanders (D)
Other Undecided
The Progress Campaign (D) Mar 12–21, 2020 3,042 (RV) ± 4.5% 51% 46% 3%
University of Georgia Feb 24 – Mar 2, 2019 1,117 (LV) ± 2.9% 52% 41% 5% 2%
Mason-Dixon Dec 19–23, 2019 625 (RV) ± 4.0% 52% 42% 6%
SurveyUSA Nov 15–18, 2019 1,303 (LV) ± 3.2% 44% 47% 9%
Climate Nexus Nov 4–10, 2019 688 (LV) 48% 46% 6%
University of Georgia Oct 30 – Nov 8, 2019 1,028 (RV) ± 3% 44% 48% 4% 5%[ap]
Zogby Analytics Oct 28–30, 2019 550 (LV) ± 4.2% 43% 48% 9%

Donald Trump vs. Elizabeth Warren

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[b]
Margin
of error
Donald
Trump (R)
Elizabeth
Warren (D)
Other Undecided
University of Georgia Feb 24 – Mar 2, 2019 1,117 (LV) ± 2.9% 52% 42% 4% 2%
Mason-Dixon Dec 19–23, 2019 625 (RV) ± 4.0% 54% 40% - 6%
SurveyUSA/WXIA-TV Nov 15–18, 2019 1,303 (LV) ± 3.2% 45% 46% - 9%
Climate Nexus Nov 4–10, 2019 688 (LV) 47% 47% 5%
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Oct 30 – Nov 8, 2019 1,028 (RV) ± 3% 44% 47% 4% 5%[ap]
Zogby Analytics Oct 28–30, 2019 550 (LV) ± 4.2% 44% 42% - 14%
Hypothetical polling

Donald Trump vs. Generic Opponent

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[b]
Margin
of error
Donald
Trump (R)
Generic
Opponent
Other Undecided
AJC[3] Jan 6–15, 2020 1,025 (V) ± 3.1% 43.6% 46.9%[aq] 1.8%[ar] 7.7%[as]

Electoral slates edit

These slates of electors were nominated by each party in order to vote in the Electoral College should their candidates win the state:[30]

Donald Trump and Mike Pence
Republican Party
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris
Democratic Party
Jo Jorgensen and Spike Cohen
Libertarian Party
  • Christine Austin
  • Stephanie Aylworth
  • Nelson Barnhouse
  • Robert Cortez
  • Danny Dolan
  • Eric Fontaine
  • Ryan Graham
  • Gretchen Mangan
  • Edward Metz
  • Mark Mosley
  • Chase Oliver
  • Robert Rouse
  • David Shock
  • John Turpish
  • Laura Williams
  • Nathan Wilson

Turnout edit

Voter registration for the 2020 general elections ended on October 5 in Georgia, with a final total of 7,233,584 active registered voters,[31] an increase of 1,790,538 new voters since the 2016 election and 805,003 new voters since the 2018 gubernatorial election. Absentee mail ballots were first sent out on September 15. Unlike the June 9 combined primary, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger declined to mail out absentee ballot request forms for the November 3 election, and instead established a website for registered voters to apply for an absentee ballot;[32] in addition, third-party non-profit organizations such as the Voter Participation Center sent out over 2.2 million absentee request forms to registered voters by mail, including to voters who did not have computers nor Internet access.[33] 1,731,117 absentee ballots were requested by mail or online by voters by the deadline of October 23. The Secretary of State's office allowed counties to install multiple drop boxes for absentee voters to bypass the postal system, on the condition that the drop boxes be installed on county government property and surveilled with 24-hour cameras.

Early in-person voting began on October 12. Complaints regarding hours-long early-voting lines soon arose across the state, especially in Metro Atlanta counties; state officials attributed the long durations of lines to voter enthusiasm and lack of preparation by county boards of elections.

Raffensperger recorded 126,876 votes having been cast early or absentee across the state on October 12, a record turnout for the first day of early voting in a Georgia general election.[34] The record turnout continued throughout the first week, with 1,555,622 having been cast by October 19. By October 21, 2,124,571 votes had been cast, over 50% of total votes cast in the 2016 election, and by October 30, over 50% of registered voters had cast their ballots.

Results edit

 
Precinct results
Map legend
  •   Biden—40–50%
  •   Biden—50–60%
  •   Biden—60–70%
  •   Biden—70–80%
  •   Biden—80–90%
  •   Biden—90–100%
  •   Trump–40–50%
  •   Trump–50–60%
  •   Trump–60–70%
  •   Trump–70–80%
  •   Trump–80–90%
  •   Trump–90–100%
  •   Tie
  •   No Vote

Following the November 3 general election, voters whose mail-in ballots were rejected could submit corrections until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 6.[35][36]

2020 United States presidential election in Georgia[30][37]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Joe Biden
Kamala Harris
2,473,633 49.47% +4.12%
Republican Donald Trump (incumbent)
Mike Pence (incumbent)
2,461,854 49.24% −1.16%
Libertarian Jo Jorgensen
Spike Cohen
62,229 1.24% −1.77%
Green Howie Hawkins (write-in)
Angela Walker (write-in)
1,013 0.02% −0.17%
American Solidarity Brian T. Carroll (write-in)
Amar Patel (write-in)
701 0.01%
Independent Jade Simmons (write-in)
Claudeliah Roze (write-in)
181 0.00%
Socialism and Liberation Gloria La Riva (write-in)
Sunil Freeman (write-in)
159 0.00%
Independent Mark Charles (write-in)
Adrian Wallace (write-in)
65 0.00%
Constitution Don Blankenship (write-in)
William Mohr (write-in)
61 0.00% −0.03%
Independent Loren Collins (write-in) 11 0.00%
Independent Barbara Bellar (write-in) 10 0.00%
Independent Peter Sherrill (write-in) 8 0.00%
Independent President R19 Boddie (write-in) 8 0.00%
Independent Princess Jacob-Fambro (write-in) 7 0.00%
Independent Kasey Wells (write-in) 6 0.00%
Independent David Byrne (write-in) 6 0.00%
Independent Shawn Howard (write-in) 5 0.00%
Independent Kathryn Gibson (write-in) 2 0.00%
Independent Deborah Rouse (write-in) 1 0.00%
Total votes 4,999,960 100.00%
Democratic win

By county edit

County Joe Biden
Democratic
Donald Trump
Republican
Various candidates
Other parties
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # %
Appling 1,784 21.26% 6,570 78.31% 36 0.43% -4,786 -57.05% 8,390
Atkinson 825 26.15% 2,300 72.90% 30 0.95% -1,475 -46.75% 3,155
Bacon 625 13.39% 4,017 86.07% 25 0.54% -3,392 -72.68% 4,667
Baker 652 41.93% 897 57.68% 6 0.39% -245 -14.85% 1,555
Baldwin 9,140 50.05% 8,903 48.75% 218 1.20% 237 1.30% 18,261
Banks 932 10.58% 7,795 88.53% 78 0.89% -6,863 -77.95% 8,805
Barrow 10,453 27.55% 26,804 70.64% 689 1.81% -16,351 -43.09% 37,946
Bartow 12,091 23.95% 37,672 74.62% 723 1.43% -25,581 -50.67% 50,486
Ben Hill 2,393 36.46% 4,111 62.63% 60 0.91% -1,718 -26.17% 6,564
Berrien 1,269 16.39% 6,419 82.89% 56 0.72% -5,150 -66.50% 7,744
Bibb 43,408 61.34% 26,559 37.53% 796 1.13% 16,849 23.81% 70,763
Bleckley 1,312 22.98% 4,329 75.81% 69 1.21% -3,017 -52.83% 5,710
Brantley 700 9.03% 6,993 90.24% 56 0.73% -6,293 -81.21% 7,749
Brooks 2,791 39.30% 4,261 60.01% 49 0.69% -1,470 -20.71% 7,101
Bryan 6,738 31.56% 14,240 66.70% 371 1.74% -7,502 -35.14% 21,349
Bulloch 11,248 37.36% 18,387 61.07% 474 1.57% -7,139 -23.71% 30,109
Burke 5,208 48.74% 5,400 50.54% 77 0.72% -192 -1.80% 10,685
Butts 3,274 27.80% 8,406 71.38% 96 0.82% -5,132 -43.58% 11,776
Calhoun 1,263 57.46% 923 41.99% 12 0.55% 340 15.47% 2,198
Camden 7,967 33.62% 15,249 64.35% 482 2.03% -7,282 -30.73% 23,698
Candler 1,269 28.64% 3,133 70.71% 29 0.65% -1,864 -42.07% 4,431
Carroll 16,236 29.79% 37,476 68.76% 790 1.45% -21,240 -38.97% 54,502
Catoosa 6,932 21.25% 25,167 77.14% 527 1.61% -18,235 -55.89% 32,626
Charlton 1,105 24.19% 3,419 74.85% 44 0.96% -2,314 -50.66% 4,568
Chatham 78,247 58.62% 53,232 39.88% 2,005 1.50% 25,015 18.74% 133,484
Chattahoochee 667 42.16% 880 55.63% 35 2.21% -213 -13.47% 1,582
Chattooga 1,854 18.44% 8,064 80.21% 135 1.35% -6,210 -61.77% 10,053
Cherokee 42,779 29.53% 99,585 68.75% 2,495 1.72% -56,806 -39.22% 144,859
Clarke 36,055 70.12% 14,450 28.10% 916 1.78% 21,605 42.02% 51,421
Clay 791 55.08% 637 44.36% 8 0.56% 154 10.72% 1,436
Clayton 95,466 84.94% 15,811 14.07% 1,114 0.99% 79,655 70.87% 112,391
Clinch 744 26.00% 2,105 73.55% 13 0.45% -1,361 -47.55% 2,862
Cobb 221,847 56.30% 165,436 41.99% 6,739 1.71% 56,411 14.31% 394,022
Coffee 4,511 29.65% 10,578 69.53% 125 0.82% -6,067 -39.88% 15,214
Colquitt 4,190 26.05% 11,777 73.21% 120 0.74% -7,587 -47.16% 16,087
Columbia 29,232 36.26% 50,013 62.04% 1,375 1.70% -20,781 -25.78% 80,620
Cook 2,059 29.26% 4,900 69.63% 78 1.11% -2,841 -40.37% 7,037
Coweta 24,210 31.50% 51,501 67.02% 1,134 1.48% -27,291 -35.52% 76,845
Crawford 1,615 26.47% 4,428 72.57% 59 0.96% -2,813 -46.10% 6,102
Crisp 2,982 37.11% 4,985 62.03% 69 0.86% -2,003 -24.92% 8,036
Dade 1,261 16.93% 6,066 81.46% 120 1.61% -4,805 -64.53% 7,447
Dawson 2,486 15.46% 13,398 83.30% 200 1.24% -10,912 -67.84% 16,084
Decatur 4,782 41.12% 6,755 58.09% 91 0.79% -1,973 -16.97% 11,628
DeKalb 308,162 83.09% 58,377 15.74% 4,338 1.17% 249,785 67.35% 370,877
Dodge 2,172 26.91% 5,843 72.39% 57 0.70% -3,671 -45.48% 8,072
Dooly 1,911 46.54% 2,159 52.58% 36 0.88% -248 -6.04% 4,106
Dougherty 24,568 69.62% 10,441 29.59% 281 0.79% 14,127 40.03% 35,290
Douglas 42,814 61.92% 25,454 36.82% 871 1.26% 17,360 25.10% 69,139
Early 2,450 47.22% 2,710 52.24% 28 0.54% -260 -5.02% 5,188
Echols 167 11.58% 1,256 87.10% 19 1.32% -1,089 -75.52% 1,442
Effingham 7,718 24.44% 23,361 73.98% 500 1.58% -15,643 -49.54% 31,579
Elbert 2,879 31.38% 6,226 67.85% 71 0.77% -3,347 -36.47% 9,176
Emanuel 2,886 30.36% 6,553 68.93% 68 0.71% -3,667 -38.57% 9,507
Evans 1,324 31.17% 2,888 67.98% 36 0.85% -1,564 -36.81% 4,248
Fannin 2,570 17.31% 12,169 81.95% 110 0.74% -9,599 -64.64% 14,849
Fayette 33,062 45.91% 37,956 52.71% 994 1.38% -4,894 -6.80% 72,012
Floyd 11,917 28.81% 28,906 69.88% 542 1.31% -16,989 -41.07% 41,365
Forsyth 42,208 32.62% 85,123 65.79% 2,046 1.59% -42,915 -33.17% 129,377
Franklin 1,593 14.80% 9,069 84.23% 105 0.97% -7,476 -69.43% 10,767
Fulton 380,212 72.57% 137,247 26.20% 6,472 1.23% 242,965 46.37% 523,931
Gilmer 2,932 17.74% 13,429 81.25% 166 1.01% -10,497 -63.51% 16,527
Glascock 155 9.90% 1,402 89.58% 8 0.52% -1,247 -79.68% 1,565
Glynn 15,882 37.82% 25,617 61.00% 495 1.18% -9,735 -23.18% 41,994
Gordon 4,384 18.23% 19,405 80.71% 255 1.06% -15,021 -62.48% 24,044
Grady 3,619 33.80% 7,034 65.70% 54 0.50% -3,415 -31.90% 10,707
Greene 4,087 36.34% 7,066 62.83% 94 0.83% -2,979 -26.49% 11,247
Gwinnett 241,994 58.40% 166,400 40.16% 5,956 1.44% 75,594 17.24% 414,350
Habersham 3,562 17.42% 16,637 81.39% 243 1.19% -13,075 -63.97% 20,442
Hall 25,033 27.63% 64,183 70.84% 1,386 1.53% -39,150 -43.21% 90,602
Hancock 2,976 71.66% 1,154 27.79% 23 0.55% 1,822 43.87% 4,153
Haralson 1,791 12.57% 12,330 86.54% 127 0.89% -10,539 -73.97% 14,248
Harris 5,457 27.28% 14,319 71.59% 226 1.13% -8,862 -44.31% 20,002
Hart 3,157 24.79% 9,465 74.33% 112 0.88% -6,308 -49.54% 12,734
Heard 824 15.28% 4,519 83.78% 51 0.94% -3,695 -68.50% 5,394
Henry 73,443 59.70% 48,259 39.23% 1,314 1.07% 25,184 20.47% 123,016
Houston 32,239 43.06% 41,540 55.48% 1,093 1.46% -9,301 -12.42% 74,872
Irwin 1,008 24.18% 3,134 75.19% 26 0.63% -2,126 -51.01% 4,168
Jackson 7,642 20.28% 29,502 78.29% 541 1.43% -21,860 -58.01% 37,685
Jasper 1,761 23.03% 5,822 76.13% 64 0.84% -4,061 -53.10% 7,647
Jeff Davis 1,028 17.80% 4,695 81.31% 51 0.89% -3,667 -63.51% 5,774
Jefferson 4,058 53.12% 3,537 46.30% 44 0.58% 521 6.82% 7,639
Jenkins 1,266 36.64% 2,161 62.55% 28 0.81% -895 -25.91% 3,455
Johnson 1,222 29.80% 2,850 69.51% 28 0.69% -1,628 -39.71% 4,100
Jones 4,882 32.68% 9,940 66.53% 118 0.79% -5,038 -33.85% 14,940
Lamar 2,620 28.97% 6,331 69.99% 94 1.04% -3,711 -41.02% 9,045
Lanier 1,019 28.50% 2,509 70.16% 48 1.34% -1,490 -41.66% 3,576
Laurens 8,074 35.52% 14,493 63.76% 165 0.72% -6,419 -28.24% 22,732
Lee 4,558 27.26% 12,007 71.82% 154 0.92% -7,449 -44.56% 16,719
Liberty 13,104 61.25% 7,959 37.20% 331 1.55% 5,145 24.05% 21,394
Lincoln 1,432 30.86% 3,173 68.37% 36 0.77% -1,741 -37.51% 4,641
Long 2,035 35.95% 3,527 62.31% 98 1.74% -1,492 -26.36% 5,660
Lowndes 20,116 43.38% 25,692 55.40% 567 1.22% -5,576 -12.02% 46,375
Lumpkin 3,126 20.11% 12,163 78.24% 256 1.65% -9,037 -58.13% 15,545
Macon 2,858 61.29% 1,783 38.24% 22 0.47% 1,075 23.05% 4,663
Madison 3,411 22.82% 11,326 75.78% 208 1.40% -7,915 -52.96% 14,945
Marion 1,312 36.18% 2,275 62.74% 39 1.08% -963 -26.56% 3,626
McDuffie 4,168 39.86% 6,169 59.00% 119 1.14% -2,001 -19.14% 10,456
McIntosh 2,612 39.01% 4,016 59.98% 68 1.01% -1,404 -20.97% 6,696
Meriwether 4,287 39.40% 6,524 59.96% 69 0.64% -2,237 -20.56% 10,880
Miller 748 26.39% 2,066 72.90% 20 0.71% -1,318 -46.51% 2,834
Mitchell 3,993 44.55% 4,935 55.06% 35 0.39% -942 -10.51% 8,963
Monroe 4,385 28.12% 11,057 70.91% 150 0.97% -6,672 -42.79% 15,592
Montgomery 980 24.70% 2,960 74.60% 28 0.70% -1,980 -49.90% 3,968
Morgan 3,353 28.63% 8,231 70.29% 126 1.08% -4,878 -41.66% 11,710
Murray 2,301 14.95% 12,944 84.08% 150 0.97% -10,643 -69.13% 15,395
Muscogee 49,446 61.40% 30,107 37.39% 975 1.21% 19,339 24.01% 80,528
Newton 29,789 54.90% 23,869 43.99% 605 1.11% 5,920 10.91% 54,263
Oconee 8,162 32.40% 16,595 65.87% 436 1.73% -8,433 -33.47% 25,193
Oglethorpe 2,439 29.97% 5,592 68.71% 107 1.32% -3,153 -38.74% 8,138
Paulding 29,695 34.76% 54,517 63.82% 1,205 1.42% -24,822 -29.06% 85,417
Peach 5,922 47.17% 6,506 51.82% 126 1.01% -584 -4.65% 12,554
Pickens 2,824 16.45% 14,110 82.17% 238 1.38% -11,286 -65.72% 17,172
Pierce 1,100 12.16% 7,898 87.29% 50 0.55% -6,798 -75.13% 9,048
Pike 1,505 14.04% 9,127 85.13% 89 0.83% -7,622 -71.09% 10,721
Polk 3,657 21.02% 13,587 78.09% 155 0.89% -9,930 -57.07% 17,399
Pulaski 1,230 30.14% 2,815 68.98% 36 0.88% -1,585 -38.84% 4,081
Putnam 3,448 29.08% 8,291 69.92% 118 1.00% -4,843 -40.84% 11,857
Quitman 497 44.94% 604 54.61% 5 0.45% -107 -9.67% 1,106
Rabun 1,984 20.72% 7,474 78.07% 116 1.21% -5,490 -57.35% 9,574
Randolph 1,671 54.38% 1,390 45.23% 12 0.39% 281 9.15% 3,073
Richmond 59,119 67.89% 26,780 30.75% 1,178 1.36% 32,339 37.14% 87,077
Rockdale 31,237 69.88% 13,014 29.11% 448 1.01% 18,223 40.77% 44,699
Schley 462 20.31% 1,800 79.12% 13 0.57% -1,338 -58.81% 2,275
Screven 2,661 40.14% 3,915 59.06% 53 0.80% -1,254 -18.92% 6,629
Seminole 1,256 32.30% 2,613 67.21% 19 0.49% -1,357 -34.91% 3,888
Spalding 11,828 39.14% 18,104 59.91% 287 0.95% -6,276 -20.77% 30,219
Stephens 2,386 20.08% 9,367 78.81% 132 1.11% -6,981 -58.73% 11,885
Stewart 1,182 59.40% 801 40.25% 7 0.35% 381 19.15% 1,990
Sumter 6,314 51.97% 5,733 47.19% 103 0.84% 581 4.78% 12,150
Talbot 2,114 59.99% 1,392 39.50% 18 0.51% 722 20.49% 3,524
Taliaferro 561 60.45% 360 38.79% 7 0.76% 201 21.66% 928
Tattnall 2,062 25.19% 6,054 73.95% 71 0.86% -3,992 -48.76% 8,187
Taylor 1,388 36.13% 2,420 62.99% 34 0.88% -1,032 -26.86% 3,842
Telfair 1,488 34.33% 2,825 65.17% 22 0.50% -1,337 -30.84% 4,335
Terrell 2,376 53.80% 2,004 45.38% 36 0.82% 372 8.42% 4,416
Thomas 8,708 39.80% 12,969 59.28% 200 0.92% -4,261 -19.48% 21,877
Tift 5,318 32.67% 10,784 66.24% 178 1.09% -5,466 -33.57% 16,280
Toombs 2,938 26.92% 7,873 72.14% 103 0.94% -4,935 -45.22% 10,914
Towns 1,550 19.43% 6,384 80.01% 45 0.56% -4,834 -60.58% 7,979
Treutlen 952 30.94% 2,101 68.28% 24 0.78% -1,149 -37.34% 3,077
Troup 11,577 38.52% 18,142 60.36% 338 1.12% -6,565 -21.84% 30,057
Turner 1,409 37.17% 2,349 61.96% 33 0.87% -940 -24.79% 3,791
Twiggs 2,044 45.99% 2,370 53.33% 30 0.68% -326 -7.34% 4,444
Union 2,800 17.99% 12,650 81.29% 112 0.72% -9,850 -63.30% 15,562
Upson 4,203 32.56% 8,606 66.68% 98 0.76% -4,403 -34.12% 12,907
Walker 5,770 19.64% 23,173 78.89% 431 1.47% -17,403 -59.25% 29,374
Walton 12,683 24.82% 37,839 74.05% 576 1.13% -25,156 -49.23% 51,098
Ware 4,169 29.38% 9,903 69.79% 117 0.83% -5,734 -40.41% 14,189
Warren 1,468 55.40% 1,166 44.00% 16 0.60% 302 11.40% 2,650
Washington 4,743 50.03% 4,668 49.24% 69 0.73% 75 0.79% 9,480
Wayne 2,688 21.03% 9,987 78.13% 107 0.84% -7,299 -57.10% 12,782
Webster 640 46.01% 748 53.77% 3 0.22% -108 -7.76% 1,391
Wheeler 689 30.15% 1,583 69.28% 13 0.57% -894 -39.13% 2,285
White 2,411 16.26% 12,222 82.41% 198 1.33% -9,811 -66.15% 14,831
Whitfield 10,680 29.05% 25,644 69.75% 442 1.20% -14,964 -40.70% 36,766
Wilcox 861 26.26% 2,402 73.25% 16 0.49% -1,541 -46.99% 3,279
Wilkes 2,160 42.93% 2,823 56.11% 48 0.96% -663 -13.18% 5,031
Wilkinson 2,074 43.48% 2,665 55.87% 31 0.65% -591 -12.39% 4,770
Worth 2,395 25.79% 6,830 73.56% 60 0.65% -4,435 -47.77% 9,285
Totals 2,473,633 49.47% 2,461,854 49.24% 64,473 1.29% 11,779 0.23% 4,999,960
 
 
 
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican edit

By congressional district edit

Trump won 8 of 14 congressional districts.[38]

District Biden Trump Elected
Representative
1st 43.1% 55.5% Buddy Carter
2nd 55.7% 43.4% Sanford Bishop
3rd 36.8% 62.0% Drew Ferguson
4th 78.8% 20.2% Hank Johnson
5th 86.2% 12.7% Nikema Williams
6th 54.8% 43.7% Lucy McBath
7th 52.4% 46.1% Carolyn Bourdeaux
8th 37.0% 62.0% Austin Scott
9th 22.4% 76.4% Andrew Clyde
10th 39.2% 59.6% Jody Hice
11th 41.5% 56.9% Barry Loudermilk
12th 43.0% 55.8% Rick W. Allen
13th 75.6% 23.4% David Scott
14th 25.3% 73.4% Marjorie Taylor Greene

Analysis edit

Like its fellow Deep South neighbors, Georgia is a former Solid South state that had gradually become part of the red wall since the Reagan Revolution starting in 1984. While Southerner Bill Clinton carried the state in 1992 and nearly did again in 1996, Georgia became a safe red state in 2000 and 2004, and a lean red state from 2008 to 2016.

Demographic changes and population shifts made Georgia trend blue, starting in 2016; Donald Trump carried Georgia by just over 5 points against Hillary Clinton. Further signalling Georgia's blue shift were the state 2018 midterms, where Democrat Stacey Abrams nearly won the governor's race against Republican Brian Kemp.

Biden became the first Democrat to carry the state since Bill Clinton in 1992;[39] the first to win a statewide election in Georgia since 2006;[40] the first to carry a state in the Deep South since Bill Clinton carried Louisiana in 1996; and the first to gain over 70% of the vote in Fulton County since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944. He was also the first non-Southern Democrat to carry a state in the Deep South since Kennedy in 1960.

This is the first time since 1992 that Georgia voted more Democratic than neighboring Florida and the first time since 2000 that it voted more Democratic than also-neighboring North Carolina. Additionally, it was the first time since 1860 that Laurens County and Monroe County did not vote for the statewide winner.[41] Biden also became the first Democrat to win the White House without carrying Baker, Burke, Dooly, Peach, Quitman, or Twiggs counties since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

Georgia was one of two states that Obama (whom Biden served under as VP) lost in both 2008 and 2012 that Biden carried, the other state being Arizona.

Georgia weighed in for this election as 4.2% more Republican than the nation-at-large. Georgia marked the strongest leftward shift in a state that Trump carried in 2016, as the state's PVI shifted 3 points more Democratic since then.

Georgia's trend towards the Democrats can be partly explained by the growth of the Atlanta metropolitan area. Atlanta has attracted many transplants from heavily blue-leaning areas of the United States. Additionally, the state's population is diversifying faster than that of most states, with the population of African Americans, Latinos, and Asians all growing over the last 10 years, and these blocs generally lean Democratic.[42]

In what was likely the biggest key to Biden's victory in Georgia, the Democratic Party invested heavily in the state, with activist and gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams heading an effort to boost minority turnout, especially among African-American voters. The Democratic super PAC Priorities USA focused on Georgia near the end of the 2020 campaign, even sending former president Barack Obama to campaign in the state.[43] Black voters made up 29% of the electorate, and Latinos made up about 7%, a significant increase compared to previous years.

Biden performed well across the board; he won independent voters by 9 points, and was able to pick up 6% of Republican voters in the state. Biden also won young voters in Georgia, sweeping each age group under 50 years old. Trump's strength in the state came from Southern whites—mainly those outside of Atlanta's urban area—as he easily won those without a college degree, especially in Georgia's rural areas; his vote share with college-educated whites dropped, however, and Trump only won suburban Georgia by 3 points this cycle.

Outside of Atlanta, Biden's strongest performances came in Georgia's other urban and suburban areas, such as Chatham County (Savannah), Muscogee County (Columbus), Richmond County (Augusta), Bibb County (Macon), and majority-college educated Clarke County (Athens). Trump, on the other hand, performed strongest in the northern and southeastern parts of the state, which are rural and were historically a hotbed for Dixiecrats. Following the nationwide trend, Georgia's voting patterns were split between urban, suburban and rural areas. Biden won urban areas by 35 points, while Trump carried the suburbs by 3 points, and these areas combined made up 85% of the electorate, showing the rapidly evolving demographics of Georgia. Trump carried rural areas by 39 points.

Voter demographics edit

Edison Research exit poll
Demographic subgroup Biden Trump No
Answer
% of
Voters
Ideology
Liberal 87 12 1 22
Moderate 65 33 2 38
Conservative 14 86 N/A 40
Party
Democrat 96 4 N/A 34
Republican 6 94 N/A 38
Independent 53 44 3 28
Gender
Men 43 55 2 44
Women 54 45 1 56
Race
White 30 69 1 61
Black 88 11 1 29
Latino 62 37 1 7
Asian N/A N/A N/A 1
Other 58 38 N/A 2
Gender by race/ethnicity
White men 27 72 1 29
White women 32 67 N/A 33
Black men 83 16 1 11
Black women 92 7 1 17
Latino men (of any race) 51 48 1 3
Latino women (of any race) 69 30 1 4
All other races 59 38 3 3
White evangelical or born-again Christian
White evangelical or born-again Christian 14 85 1 33
Everyone else 70 29 1 67
Age
18–24 years old 56 43 1 12
25–29 years old 56 43 1 8
30–39 years old 53 45 2 17
40–49 years old 50 49 1 18
50–64 years old 47 53 N/A 27
65 and older 44 56 N/A 19
Sexual orientation
LGBT 64 34 2 7
Heterosexual 47 52 1 93
First time voter
First time voter 52 45 3 13
Everyone else 48 52 N/A 87
Education
High school or less 35 64 1 16
Some college education 49 49 2 26
Associate degree 46 53 1 17
Bachelor's degree 54 45 1 26
Advanced degree 63 36 1 14
Education by race/ethnicity
White college graduates 44 55 1 26
White no college degree 20 79 1 35
Non-white college graduates 83 16 1 14
Non-white no college degree 80 19 1 25
Income
Under $30,000 59 38 3 13
$30,000–49,999 53 45 3 19
$50,000–99,999 46 53 1 36
$100,000–199,999 50 50 0 23
Over $200,000 63 35 2 8
Family's financial situation today
Better than four years ago 21 78 1 44
Worse than four years ago 84 15 1 16
About the same 73 26 1 38
U.S. Military Service
Yes 38 61 1 15
No 50 49 1 85
Region
North 28 70 2 19
Atlanta Suburbs 53 46 1 28
Atlanta Metro 80 19 1 20
Central 44 55 1 18
Coast/South 38 61 1 15
Area type
Urban 67 32 1 23
Suburban 48 51 1 62
Rural 30 69 1 14
Source: CNN[44]

Aftermath edit

Statewide audit and recount edit

On November 11, the Secretary of State of Georgia announced there would be a statewide hand recount of every paper ballot in addition to the normal audit process.[45][46] On November 15, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, denounced Trump's criticism of the state's recount process.[47] During this audit, it was discovered that Fayette County had missed tabulating 2,755 votes, Floyd County had about 2,600 ballots that were never scanned, Douglas County failed to include a memory card from an Election Day precinct that included 156 votes, and Walton County discovered a memory card with 284 votes. The final statewide result from the completed audit is Biden with 2,475,141 votes and Trump with 2,462,857 votes, a spread of 12,284 votes. The result before the audit had been Biden with 2,473,383 votes and Trump with 2,459,825.[48] Therefore, the results of the audit netted Trump 1,274 votes. The change in the count was due to a number of human errors, including memory cards that did not upload properly to the state servers, and was not attributable to any fraud in the original tally.[49]

The results of the election were officially certified on November 20, 2020.[50]

The Trump campaign had until November 24, 2020, to request a recount of the results. Unlike the statewide audit of each individual ballot by hand, the recount would involve a re-scanning of the voting machines.[50] They filed a petition formally seeking the recount on November 21.[51]

On December 2, Raffensperger suggested that Biden was likely to win the recount.[52] Biden was later confirmed as the winner of the recount on December 7.[53][54]

Disputes edit

On November 19, Judge Steven D. Grimberg, a federal judge who was appointed by Trump in 2019, denied the Trump campaign's request to have further delay in the certification of the election results in Georgia.[55]

On November 30, Gabriel Sterling, a top Republican election official for the Republican Georgia Secretary of State, gave a press conference in which he denounced death threats made against an election technician. Sterling appealed to President Trump: "Stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence. Someone's going to get hurt, someone's going to get shot, someone's going to get killed, and it's not right."[56]

On December 14, 2020, Georgia's electoral votes were cast for Biden, formalizing his victory in the state, which Biden won by 11,779 votes. On the same day, a group of pro-Trump Republicans claimed to cast Georgia's electoral votes for Trump; the fake votes have no legal standing.[57][58]

On January 2, 2021, Trump and Raffensperger spoke for one hour by telephone, during which Trump threatened Raffensperger by saying he was taking "a big risk" by declaring Biden as the victor. Referring to Biden's 11,779-vote victory margin, Trump instructed Raffensperger that "there's nothing wrong with saying, you know, um, that you've recalculated...I just want to find 11,780 votes."[59]

On May 21, 2021, a Henry County Superior Court Judge, Brian Amero, agreed to unseal 147,000 absentee ballots from Fulton County. The petitioners in the case alleged that fraud had occurred – based on sworn affidavits provided by four election workers who all claimed to have handled thousands of fraudulent ballots. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger welcomed the decision. "Fulton County has a long-standing history of election mismanagement that has understandably weakened voters' faith in its system. Allowing this audit provides another layer of transparency and citizen engagement."[60] However, on June 25, 2021, Amero dismissed most of the lawsuit seeking to inspect the ballots.[61] On October 13, Amero dismissed the suit altogether, closing the last legal challenge to Georgia election results, ruling the suit lacked standing because it "failed to allege a particularized injury."[62]

On May 2, 2022, Raffensperger tweeted a link to a Just the News article[63] outlining how Georgia election regulators have issued four subpoenas demanding the identity of a John Doe whistleblower and other evidence concerning an alleged ballot trafficking operation in the 2020 election. The subpoenas were sent to a Conservative election integrity group "True the Vote" who earlier provided information to Georgia officials that as many as 242 people (dubbed mules) illegally gathered third-party ballots during the battleground state's November 2020 election and subsequent U.S. Senate races and then stuffed the ballots into multiple mail-in-ballot drop boxes in numerous locations around the state. "Credible evidence was given to us that people were harvesting ballots," said Raffensperger to The National Desk's Jan Jeffcoat. "This information was provided to us and they said there's a witness, a 'John Doe.' And so we're looking at subpoenaing that person to get the information."[64] True the Vote have worked with Dinesh D'Souza to help produce the 2022 movie 2000 Mules which alleges widespread fraud in the November 2020 election.[65]

On August 15, 2022, it was announced that Rudolph W. "Rudy" Giuliani is a target of the Georgia election probe.[66] On the same day, a federal judge, District Court Judge Leigh Martin May, ordered that Lindsey Graham testify before the grand jury.[67]

The Atlanta Journal Constitution found about 3,000 too many absentee votes counted for Biden as identified by investigators during the 2020 Fulton County audit. These duplicate ballots were not used as Georgia’s certified vote count.[68] The recount of five million ballots cast in Georgia also uncovered almost 6,000 ballots in four counties overlooked in the initial tally, which resulted in Trump gaining 1,400 votes as well as almost 500 votes in the manual tally, a total of around 1,900 votes. Biden also gained 975 votes in the manual recount, however, and given the difference in the manual recount it netted Biden an additional 505 votes.

The breakdown of the manual recount was as follows:

Clayton County: +145 Trump

Cobb County: +315 Biden

DeKalb County: +560 Biden

Fulton County: +345 Trump

Gwinnett County: +285 Trump

Georgia: +496 Trump

12,284: Joe Biden’s advantage over Donald Trump in a manual recount

12,780: Machine-counted margin between the candidates

11,779: Officially certified margin of Victory for Joseph R. Biden

While these finds did not change the overall outcome, it did reveal a number of errors that had been made in the initial counts in a number of counties, which would later prompt Governor Kemp to order a probe into the "sloppy" initial counts from Fulton County.[69][70]

Prosecution of Donald Trump edit

In 2023, Donald Trump was accused of leading a "criminal racketeering enterprise" with 18 co-defendants who are accused of having "knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome" of the election. Trump and the other co-defendants are being charged under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The indictment comes in the context of various attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election by Trump. The case will be tried in the Fulton County Superior Court with judge Scott F. McAfee presiding.[71]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Calculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  3. ^ a b c "Someone else" with 1%
  4. ^ Overlapping sample with the previous SurveyMonkey/Axios poll, but more information available regarding sample size
  5. ^ Hawkins (G) and "Other candidate or write-in" with 0%
  6. ^ a b c d With voters who lean towards a given candidate
  7. ^ a b c d "Someone else" with 2%
  8. ^ "Someone else" with 4%
  9. ^ "Other candidate" with 1%; "No one" with 0%
  10. ^ a b c With a likely voter turnout model featuring higher turnout than in the 2016 presidential election
  11. ^ a b c With a likely voter turnout model featuring lower turnout than in the 2016 presidential election
  12. ^ "Other third party" with 2%
  13. ^ "Other" with 2%; Hawkins (G) with 0%
  14. ^ "Someone else" with 5%
  15. ^ Hawkins (G) and "Someone else" with 1%; would not vote with 0%
  16. ^ a b c d Includes "Refused"
  17. ^ "Someone else" with 3%; would not vote with 0%
  18. ^ "Some other candidate" with 2%
  19. ^ Hawkins (G) with 1%
  20. ^ a b "Someone else" with 3%
  21. ^ a b Hawkins (G) with 1%; "Another Third Party/Write-in" with 0%
  22. ^ "No one" with 0%; "Other candidate" with no voters
  23. ^ "Someone else" and would not vote with 0%
  24. ^ Standard VI response
  25. ^ Hawkins (G) with 0%
  26. ^ If only Biden and Trump were candidates
  27. ^ Overlapping sample with the previous Morning Consult poll, but more information available regarding sample size
  28. ^ Would not vote with 1%
  29. ^ Hawkins (G) and would not vote with 0%
  30. ^ "Refused" with 2%
  31. ^ "Some other candidate" with 4%
  32. ^ "Someone else/third party" with 3%; would not vote with 0%
  33. ^ "Third party candidate" with 4%; would not vote with 2%
  34. ^ "Another Party candidate"
  35. ^ "Other" with 3%; "would not vote" with 1%
  36. ^ "Different candidate" with 8%; would not vote with 2%
  37. ^ Listed as "other/undecided"
  38. ^ "Undecided" with 5%; "Did not answer" with 2%
  39. ^ Wouldn't vote with 1%; don't know/refused with 3%
  40. ^ Wouldn't vote with 2%; don't know/refused with 5%
  41. ^ Wouldn't vote with 3%; don't know/refused with 4%
  42. ^ a b Wouldn't vote with 2%; don't know/refused with 3%
  43. ^ "Vote against Trump" with 46.9%
  44. ^ Would not vote with 1.8%
  45. ^ Listed as "don't know/refused"
Partisan clients
  1. ^ The Center for American Greatness is a pro-Trump organization
  2. ^ a b The American Action Forum is a 501 organisation which usually supports Republican candidates
  3. ^ a b Poll sponsored by Ossoff's campaign
  4. ^ The Human Rights Campaign endorsed Biden prior to this poll's sampling period
  5. ^ Poll sponsored by Democrat Raphael Warnock's campaign for U.S. Senate
  6. ^ Matt Lieberman is a Democratic candidate in Georgia's 2020 special Senate election
  7. ^ Fair Fight Action is the non-profit arm of Fair Fight, founded by Stacey Abrams who endorsed Biden prior to this poll's sampling period
  8. ^ This poll's sponsor, DFER, primarily supports Democratic candidates
  9. ^ AFSCME endorsed Biden prior to this poll's sampling period
  10. ^ This poll's sponsor is the American Principles Project, a 501(c)(4) organization that supports the Republican Party.
  11. ^ This poll is sponsored by End Citizens United, a PAC which has endorsed Democratic candidates who are against the landmark Citizens United court ruling
  12. ^ This poll was sponsored by a Republican-supporting organisation
  13. ^ Poll conducted for the Speaker of Georgia's House Republican caucus
  14. ^ Poll sponsored by Doug Collins' campaign

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Further reading edit

External links edit

  • "Georgia 2020 Purge List", SaveMyVote2020.org, Los Angeles, CA: Palast Investigative Fund, Check if you have been purged from the Georgia voter rolls
  • "League of Women Voters of Georgia". January 5, 2018. (state affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
  • Elections Archived November 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine at the Georgia Secretary of State official website
  • Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "Georgia", Voting & Elections Toolkits