Raffensperger certifies Georgia’s election for Trump, four years after certification nightmare

Georgia’s chief election official has certified the state’s election results and congratulated President-elect Donald Trump, reveling in a routine process after the 2020 contest roiled his office.

State Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, posted a photo of himself Friday signing a certification document at a wooden table.

“The people of Georgia have spoken, and I am proud to certify the results of Georgia’s 2024 Presidential Election this morning,” he wrote in the X post. “Congratulations to President-Elect Donald J. Trump!”

Georgia was a major prize in the presidential race between Mr. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Mr. Trump won the state by more than 100,000 votes, or a margin of about 50.7% to 48.5%.

The people of Georgia have spoken, and I am proud to certify the results of Georgia’s 2024 Presidential Election this morning.

Congratulations to President-Elect Donald J. Trump! pic.twitter.com/rKH2sjcYtT

— GA Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (@GaSecofState) November 22, 2024

The ho-hum certification was a major turnaround from four years ago, when President Biden won the state in an upset over Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump claimed fraud and famously pressured Mr. Raffensperger in a phone call to “find” enough votes to flip the state into his column.

Mr. Raffensperger and other GOP elections officials rebuffed the president, though the phone call led to a criminal investigation and contributed to a racketeering indictment against Mr. Trump and his allies.

The criminal case is on hold because of questions about Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her relationship with a key investigator on the case. Following Mr. Trump’s win, an appeals court postponed proceedings, leaving the case in limbo.

State Republicans passed an election overhaul in 2021 to reassure voters worried about fraud. Some liberal critics called it Jim Crow 2.0 and Major League Baseball moved its All-Star Game out of the Atlanta area.

Mr. Raffensperger and his colleagues said those critics were proven wrong during this election cycle. They said a record number of early voters and no-headaches tabulation on Election Day vindicated their efforts.