Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced on Wednesday that the state would carry out a full recount of the presidential race by hand.

The final tally of Georgia’s election results shows that Joe Biden beat President Trump by 14,101 votes, a margin small enough to trigger an automatic recount in the state. Election workers will now begin a by-hand recount and simultaneous audit of the results, which must be completed before the results are certified on November 20.

The recount “will be a heavy lift, but we will work with the counties to get this done in time for our state certification,” Raffensperger said at a press conference. “Many of these workers will be working plenty of overtime.”

President Trump and allies have alleged that Democrats “stole” the election through voter fraud in crucial states, including Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. However, the Trump campaign has not yet produced evidence of fraud on a scope that would overturn the election results.

Georgia Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, both Republicans, called on Raffensperger to resign on Tuesday over what they alleged were “mismanagement and lack of transparency” regarding the election. Both senators are facing runoff elections on January 5, and if they both lose, Republicans and Democrats will be tied 50-50 in the Senate. Raffensperger, a Republican, immediately rejected the call for his resignation.

“This race has national significance, national importance: we get that,” Raffensperger said on Wednesday. “At the end of the day, we do a hand count, then we can answer the question [of] exactly what was the final margin of this race.”

SOURCE: National Review / AGENCIES