GA Election Chief In Coronavirus Quarantine, Wife Tests Positive

Updated: 2 p.m. on Thursday

GEORGIA — Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is in quarantine after his wife tested positive for the coronavirus after returning from travelling, WSB-TV reported.

Raffensperger and his staff have been tested and are awaiting results, the station said. He and members of his staff were at a news conference Wednesday at the Georgia State Capitol, surrounded by state officials, reporters and other elections staff.

Earlier Thursday, Raffensperger vowed the recount that will occur in Georgia soon will be transparent, after several state and national leaders claimed otherwise.

Raffensperger was asked Thursday on “CBS This Morning” if the risk-limiting audit ordered after criticism of how his office handled the elections was an overreaction.

An audit is required by state law and “we want to go with the gold standard of audits, we want to stay on the cutting edge of election integrity,” Raffensperger said.

He told CBS he has seen no evidence of widespread fraud, but his office takes all accusations seriously.

“We will investigate every case we hear,” Raffensperger said. “We believe people should be able to support this with facts.”

He noted that Georgia had record turnout, with increased voter registration and participation on both sides of the aisle, which led to more time tallying votes.

On Wednesday Raffensperger ordered a hand recount of the entire state’s election. He pledged the process will be transparent, with Democrats, Republicans and independents standing behind the vote counters as they check every ballot.

“Half the people won’t like the answer and half will love it,” Raffensperger said.

The current margin of votes in Georgia between President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden shows the Democrat leading the president by 14,045 votes, according to the Secretary of State's Office.

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"With the margin being so close, it'll require a full by-hand recount in each county," Raffensperger said Wednesday. "This will help build confidence. It will be an audit, a recount and a re-canvass all at once. It will be a heavy lift, but we will work with the counties to get this done in time for our state certification. Many of these workers will be working overtime. We have all worked hard to bring fair and accurate counts to ensure the will of the voters is reflected in the final count, and that every voter will have confidence in the outcome, whether their candidate won or lost.

"My office will continue to investigate each and every instance of illegal voting, double voting, felon voting, people voting out of state," Raffensperger said. "If you report it, we will investigate it. Every legal vote will count. We will continue to follow and enforce the law."

Georgia has two runoff dates set for later this year, one on Dec. 1 for local and state offices, and another on Jan. 5, 2021, for federal offices, including the highly anticipated dual U.S. Senate runoff.

Raffensperger also announced Wednesday that he is moving the date of the early election to coincide with the federal runoff on Jan. 5, 2021.

"This will protect the integrity of both elections and make for better election administration," he said. "It has the added benefit of saving taxpayers millions of dollars. The reason we have so many of these on rollover lists of voters is a direct function of COVID-19. This is the reality."

Absentee ballots can now be requested for those runoff elections. Voters have until Dec. 5 to register to vote in Georgia for the Jan. 5 election, with absentee ballots beginning to mail out on Nov. 18. Early in-person voting begins Dec. 14 in Georgia.

U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, whom Trump's campaign tapped to lead the vote recount, sent three formal requests to Raffensperger on Tuesday, according to Fox 5. In the requests, Collins wanted a, "'full comparison' of absentee ballots, in-person, and provisional ballots cast in Georgia as well as a check for any votes cast by ineligible persons, including felons," the TV station reported.

Additionally, the third request was for Raffensperger's office to "announce a full hand-count of every ballot cast in each and every county due to widespread allegations of voter irregularities, issues with voting machines, and poll watcher access," Fox 5 reported.

Many voters have already turned their attention to the January 2021 runoff elections for Senate seats. That election will be for the seats of the two Georgia senators who said Monday that they want fellow Republican Raffensperger to step down because he "failed to deliver honest and transparent elections." Raffensperger refused and said he will fight to make sure every legal vote counts.

Georgia continues to count its outstanding ballots Thursday after various news organizations declared Saturday that Biden had reached the number of Electoral College votes required to become the president-elect. Many of Trump's supporters declared voter fraud, but Georgia officials have said there has been no evidence of the sort.

A joint statement on Monday from Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler called the management of elections in Georgia an "embarrassment" that left Georgians "outraged." Both Perdue and Loeffler faced strong challenges and are headed to Jan. 5 runoff elections.

"We have been clear from the beginning: Every legal vote cast should be counted," the statement read. "Any illegal vote must not. And there must be transparency and uniformity in the counting process."

The senators urged Raffensperger to resign over supposed mismanagement and a lack of transparency in his office. He flatly said, "that is not going to happen."

"The voters of Georgia hired me, and the voters of Georgia will be the one to fire me," Raffensperger said in a statement.

The Republican in charge of overseeing the state's elections said that he understands Perdue and Loeffler are likely irritated because they both seem headed for Jan. 5 runoff elections after failing to get over 50 percent in their respective races.

Raffensperger added that, as a member of the GOP, he is "unhappy with the potential outcome for our president."

No proof of election fraud or tampering has been submitted by the Trump campaign even as the president has filed lawsuits tied to voting in several states. A Georgia suit was thrown out last week by a judge.

Trump tweeted on Monday that, "Georgia will be a big presidential win, as it was the night of the Election!"

Biden will become the 46th U.S. president after unofficial election results in Pennsylvania, with its 20 electoral votes, put him over the 270 electoral votes required to win the presidency, the Associated Press and other news organizations projected. Georgia has not yet been called, although Biden leads in the state.

Biden continues to increase his lead over Trump in Georgia. As of Thursday morning, Biden has 14,045 more votes than Trump, according to the Secretary of State's Office. Trump had 49.24 percent of the vote, with 2.457 million votes, to Biden's 49.52 percent and 2.471 million votes.