Trump campaign picks Rep. Doug Collins to lead Georgia recount

Nov. 9 (UPI) -- The Trump campaign has picked Rep. Doug Collins to lead the recount effort in Georgia, one of four states still counting ballots early Monday.

"Republicans stand by the ideal that every eligible voter should be able to vote legally and have it counted," Collins said in a statement.

Counters in Georgia have gone through 99% of ballots cast with CNN, ABC and NBC projecting Democratic nominee Joe Biden is posed to win the state by some 10,000 votes over President Donald Trump.

Biden secured the presidency over Trump with 279 electoral votes on Saturday, but the president has yet to concede and has filed several legal challenges against results in states whose electoral votes have been projected for the former vice president.

Late last week, officials in Georgia announced there would be a recount due to a margin smaller than 0.5% between the candidates, and Trump's campaign announced in the statement late Sunday that it had pegged Collins to lead the recount effort.

"In order for Americans to have confidence in our elections, every legal vote must be counted and every illegal or fraudulent vote must be excluded," said Matt Morgan, general counsel for the president's re-election campaign. "We look forward to guaranteeing that our elections are safe and secure, just as we look forward to President Trump winning Georgia."

Both Collins, who lost his bid for a Senate seat last week, and Morgan raised concerns without offering evidence about issues with tabulation and fraudulent votes in Georgia, accusations that Trump has also made about several states. In the past few days, tweets the president has made on the subject have been flagged by the social media platform for containing disputed or misleading claims.

Late last week, Trump lost three legal cases concerning vote counting, including one in Georgia where a judge rejected his challenge to halt the state's counting of ballots.

The Trump campaign said Sunday the recount will begin as soon as the canvassing has concluded.

Along with Georgia, ballots in North Carolina, Arizona and Alaska were still being counted early Monday.