Doug Collins to lead Trump recount effort in Georgia

Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) will lead a recount effort for President Trump’s reelection campaign in Georgia, where President-elect Joe Biden holds a razor-thin lead as ballots continue to be counted in the state. 

In a statement announcing Collins had been tapped to lead the recount team, Matt Morgan, general counsel for the Trump campaign, said there are concerns “about the lack of transparency in the tabulation process,” citing what he referred to as “reports of irregularities and improper ballot harvesting in Georgia.”

The Trump campaign on Wednesday filed a lawsuit seeking to require election officials in the state’s Chatham County to separate mail ballots that allegedly arrived late. The lawsuit included an affidavit from a registered poll watcher who claimed to witness 53 late-arriving ballots being mixed with other ballots.

Chatham County Superior Court Judge James Bass dismissed the suit after an hourlong hearing one day later, however, determining “there is no evidence that the ballots referenced in the petition were received after 7:00 p.m. on election day, thereby making those ballots invalid.”

According to The Associated Press, Biden currently leads Trump by 10,353 votes, or 49.5 percent to 49.3 percent, with 99 percent of precincts reporting in Georgia, which hasn’t vote for a Democratic presidential candidate in nearly 30 years.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) last Friday predicted a recount in the state, given the small margin.

“As we are closing in on a final count, we can begin to look toward our next steps,” Raffensperger said at the time. “With a margin that small, there will be a recount in Georgia. Interest in our election obviously goes far beyond Georgia’s borders.”

“The final tally in Georgia at this point has huge implications for the entire country,” he continued.

In a statement on Monday, Collins, who recently conceded his race for senator after trailing behind Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) and Democrat Raphael Warnock in the special Senate election, expressed confidence for a Trump win in Georgia.

“In order for Americans to have full faith and confidence in our elections, every legal vote must be counted and every illegal or fraudulent vote must be excluded,” Collins said.

“We look forward to guaranteeing that our elections are safe and secure, just as we look forward to President Trump winning Georgia,” he added.