Colquitt County’s vote recount concludes: Trump gains 1 vote, Biden gains 2
Published 5:34 pm Monday, November 16, 2020
MOULTRIE, Ga. – Colquitt County’s done its part.
At the end of a recount Monday, the county’s vote total changed by three votes: Incumbent President Donald Trump gained one and former Vice President Joe Biden gained two.
According to Colquitt Probate Judge Wes Lewis, who oversees county elections, the total number of votes cast in the presidential election remained the same.
“That would be a concern if the recount showed something different,” said Lewis.
Taking into account absentee ballots cast both in person and by mail, votes cast on Election Day in person and any remaining provisional and military votes, 16,141 choices were made in the president’s race in Colquitt County. Trump’s total is now 11,778 and Biden’s is 4,189. The reasons for these slight differences individually, Lewis said, could be human vs. computer counting where a computer may miss an irregularity on the ballot.
The recount, which was ordered by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and began in Colquitt County on Friday, was only for the president’s race and it was done in batches. Lewis said his office had more than 100 batches in all, sorted by precincts with the counting done by four two-person audit teams. The numbers from each batch were entered into a system contracted by the state – Arlo by VotingWorks – to assist with the recount, or audit. It was through this system, Lewis said, that he got the final totals.
The deadline for all counties to complete the recounting is Wednesday evening, Lewis said.
“This has by far been the most challenging year,” said Lewis, not only referring to the recount but also COVID-19 concerns in regards to voting and the upcoming Jan. 5 runoff for both of Georgia’s seats in the U.S. Senate. “These two weeks have been an eternity.”
Because Colquitt County went overwhelmingly for Trump but the state as a whole was nearly 50/50, Lewis said he’s interested to see how the runoffs shape up. He said he is still awaiting all of the details for the runoff, which will also include a race for the Georgia Public Service Commission that was moved to Jan. 5 from Dec. 1.
