Georgia election results: When and how will the state finish counting?

Election officials in the Peach State say a recount could take another week, if requested

The southern battleground state has become too close to call and officials will now recount all ballots, with a mere thousand-or-so votes between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee.

The presidential candidates each had 49.4 per cent of counted ballots, though Mr Biden was ahead by 1,579 votes on Friday morning with 4,169 left to count. 

Having  reduced the Republican president’s Election Day 117,000 vote lead, a victory for Mr Biden is still not certain in the Peach State, with some 9,000 overseas military ballots still to be counted. 

The process will now take up to another week, according to estimates, following the decision to conduct a recount,

An election official had warned on Thursday that a recount was “more than likely”, with the presidential race itself, still to be decided, and Mr Biden in need of one more state to win the Electoral College.

“As has been pointed out by everybody, this is going to be an extremely close margin — especially in a presidential election,” said Gabriel Sterling, the voting system implementation manager for the secretary of state’s office.

While there is no automatic trigger for a recount, officials can decide to do so, as was announced on Friday. 

Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, said there would be a recount "with a margin that small" in the potentially decisive state.

“The interest in our election obviously goes far behind Georgia's borders,” added Mr Raffensperger. "The final tally in Georgia at this point has huge implications for the entire country. 

With 98 per cent of all ballots counted on Friday, Mr Trump and Mr Biden were tied on 49.4 per cent of the vote each, leading to speculation that the losing candidate would request a recount. 

State law allows a candidate to request a recount when the margin between two candidates is 0.5 per cent or less, and that request is made within two days of the certification of results.

The recount must be requested in writing by the candidate, which Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensberger, would accept or decline. Although this is now unlikely, with the state carrying out a recount. 

The secretary of state directs all counties to perform a recount, although there are no set deadlines for completion.

Mr Sterling suggested on Thursday that a recount in Georgia would take up to a week to complete.  

If Mr Biden wins the state, he will become the first Democratic candidate to do so since Bill Clinton and 1992.

Mr Trump, meanwhile, filed a case in Georgia’s Chatham, County that challenged the counting process. A judge, however, immediately dismissed the case.