US State Of Georgia Extends Hours For Voters To Verify Ballots In Governor's Race

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th November, 2018) Several election offices in the US state of Georgia are open past normal hours in order to ensure voters can verify their ballots, Democrat Gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams said in a statement.

On Thursday, Republican candidate Brian Kemp prematurely declared himself the winner of Georgia's governor's race that was held on November 4 - a racially-charged contest marred by allegations of voter suppression. However, Abrams, who would become the state's first black governor if she wins, said some 100,000 ballots had yet to be counted.

"DeKalb and Gwinnett County Voters: If you cast a provisional ballot, you have until 8PM [EST] TODAY [0100 GMT Saturday] to go to your county election office and verify your ballot," Abrams said via Twitter on Friday.

Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump said Kemp won the race for Governor in the state and insisted it was time to "move on!"

As of Thursday evening, Kemp had won 50.3 percent of votes counted to Abrams' 48.7 percent. FOX news reported that Kemp led by about 63,000 votes, however Abrams said an additional 25,000 votes in her favor would trigger a runoff.

Georgia state laws require a candidate to win a majority of the votes or at least 51 percent.

Kemp in his position as Georgia's Secretary of State oversaw the election process while running for governor against Abrams despite demands to recuse himself. During his time in this post, a US Federal court ruling before the midterm election forced his office to count 3,000 early votes they tried to throw out because of alleged citizenship issues.

Another court prevented Kemp from suspending up to 50,000 ballots for incomplete information and so-called signature mismatches. 40 percent of all ballots rejected statewide came from Gwinnett, a county where 60 percent of residents are Latino, Black or Asian. Abrams has accused Kemp throughout the election of purging black voters from voter registration lists.

On November 4, US voters cast ballots in midterm elections to fill seats in Congress as well as local offices including governorships but razor thin margins triggered recounts. Votes are being recounted with respect to races for Georgia's governor and senate seats in Florida and Arizona.