Biden lead in Georgia more than doubles

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s lead in Georgia more than doubled on Friday evening as officials added outstanding votes from Democratic-leaning Gwinnett County to the tally. 

With the latest returns from Gwinnett, which includes some of Atlanta’s suburbs, Biden now leads Trump by 4,267 votes, up from 1,564 votes on Friday afternoon. The latest vote total gives Biden 49.4 percent of the vote to Trump’s 49.3 percent.

Biden gained some 4,800 votes from the latest count in Gwinnett County, while Trump picked up just under 2,100.

But officials were still counting outstanding ballots on Friday evening, and as of Friday afternoon, more than 8,000 military and overseas ballots had not yet been returned. Counting in the state is expected to continue into Friday night and possibly into Saturday.

Biden took the lead in Georgia early Friday morning after trailing Trump in the ballot returns for days. While the state has not yet been called for either candidate — and is unlikely to be called anytime soon — Biden’s showing there is cause for celebration for Democrats. A Democratic presidential candidate hasn’t won Georgia since 1992.

Even if his existing lead holds as more votes are tallied, the race is almost certainly headed for a recount. Georgia law allows candidates to request a recount if a race is decided by 0.5 percentage points or less. 

Speaking to reporters earlier Friday, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said that a recount in the race was inevitable, pointing to the ultrathin margin separating Biden and Trump.

“As we are closing in on a final count, we can begin to look toward our next steps,” Raffensperger, a Republican, said. “With a margin that small, there will be a recount in Georgia.”