Georgia presidential recount begins Tuesday

ATLANTA — Election officials across Georgia will begin another count of votes in the presidential election Tuesday.

The recount can begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday and must be completed by midnight Dec. 2, the secretary of state’s office announced.

It will be the third tally of votes in a race decided by the narrowest of margins — Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump by just 12,670 votes out of some 5 million ballots cast in Georgia. But election officials do not expect the third count to change the outcome of the race.

Nor is it likely to dampen calls to revisit that outcome. Trump’s campaign has demanded what state election officials say is impossible — a recount that includes rechecking voter signatures to uncover potential fraud. On Monday, a top election official also poured cold water on calls by Georgia Republicans for an audit to double-check the signature matching efforts of local election workers.

Gabriel Sterling, the state’s voting system manager, said such an audit would be technically feasible. But he said there is no specific evidence of wrongdoing to warrant more scrutiny of voter signatures, barring a court order.

“We can’t open investigations based on generalized, ‘we’re not happy with the outcome’ “of the election, Sterling said.

“If somebody comes to us with specific evidence, we investigate that.”

Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger certified the election Friday. The move came after a hand recount of every ballot confirmed the outcome of the presidential race.

Because Biden’s margin of victory is less than half a percent, Trump can request another recount under state law. On Saturday the president’s campaign formally requested the recount. Georgia taxpayers will pay for the recount.

Unlike the hand recount, the new tally will be done by machine. Sterling said the Dec. 2 deadline accounts for the Thanksgiving holiday and special elections to be held next week in several counties.