STONECREST, Ga. — DeKalb County election officials announced Saturday that they are modifying their recount schedule to allow for a rest day, expressing confidence that they'll complete the process early.
The DeKalb County Voter Registration and Elections (VRE) office released a statement on Saturday afternoon explaining its shifted schedule, which will now skip from Saturday, where it ended at 5 p.m., to Monday at 9 a.m.
“We believe we are in a great place and this change in the schedule will allow our team to rest and come in ready to complete this recount ahead of the deadline,” said DeKalb VRE Director Erica Hamilton. “I am extremely proud of our effort and look forward to finalizing the recount efforts on Monday.”
While past dates have listed an end time for recount completion, Monday is set to continue until the process is completed.
DeKalb is just one of Georgia's 159 counties that have been tasked with a recount which was formally requested by Donald Trump's re-election campaign.
Based on existing numbers, which aren't expected to see a significant change, President-elect Joe Biden leads Trump by roughly 13,000 votes in the state - the first Democrat to take Georgia since Bill Clinton decades earlier.
The candidate-requested recount follows the election day tallies and a pre-certification hand audit of ballots. However, the Trump campaign insisted this particular recount also include signature matching - something not allowed under existing Georgia law.
The recount currently underway in DeKalb and other counties is being performed by machines but still requires significant involvement by county-level elections offices.
In DeKalb's case, they have been working from a former Sam's Club building at 2994 Turner Hill Road in Stonecrest since Nov. 24.
Information provided by DeKalb County suggests the county also ceased counting on Thursday but resumed on Friday and Saturday.
All counties are required to complete the recount by Dec. 2.