Georgia election official under police protection amid threats after state certifies Biden win

Joe Biden beat Donald Trump by just 12, 670 votes in the state

Another top election official in Georgia has received threats  for certifying Joe Biden’s win in the state.

Gabriel Sterling, who oversees Georgia’s voting systems, said his home now needed police protection after his email was hacked following the presidential election.

The threats came days after his boss, Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger, certified Mr Biden’s win by 12,670 votes over Donald Trump in the battleground state.

“So this is fun...multiple attempted hacks of my emails, police protection around my home, the threats. But all is well...following the the law, following the process...doing our jobs,” tweeted Mr Sterling.

Mr Raffensperger has said that both he and his wife had received death threats over his handling of the election results.

Mr Trump and other Georgia Republicans have pressured Mr Raffensperger to not certify the results while asking for an audit and a hand recount of ballots.

The results of the state’s 159 counties showed Mr Biden received 2.47 million votes while Mr Trump got 2.46 million votes.

The Trump campaign has asked for yet another recount which must be paid for by the state.

“Today, the Trump campaign filed a petition for recount in Georgia. We are focused on ensuring that every aspect of Georgia State Law and the U.S. Constitution are followed so that every legal vote is counted,” they said in a statement.

“President Trump and his campaign continue to insist on an honest recount in Georgia, which has to include signature matching and other vital safeguards.”

An audit of Georgia’s voting machine showed that there had been no interference with them during the election.

Mr Trump’s lawyers, lead by Rudy Giuliani, have suffered a series of legal defeats in cases filed in battleground states across the country.

The outgoing president’s own cybersecurity team from the Department of Homeland security have called the election the “most secure in American history.”

Mr Trump fired the cybersecurity head, Christopher Krebs, after he rejected the president’s claims of ballot fraud.