Georgia Election Interference: Trump Demands Secretary of State 'Find' 11,780 Votes

Overview

On January 2, 2021 — four days before the Capitol attack — President Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and delivered what was perhaps the most direct and explicit attempt by a sitting U.S. president to interfere with an election in American history.

The call lasted one hour and two minutes. It was recorded. Its key moment:

"I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state."

The number was precisely calculated: Biden had won Georgia by 11,779 votes, and Trump was asking Raffensperger to locate, identify, or create one more vote than that margin. Raffensperger and his team spent much of the call rebutting, point by point, the false factual claims Trump made. Raffensperger refused to comply.

The Threat

Beyond the explicit ask, Trump made implied threats throughout the call. He told Raffensperger that not reporting the (nonexistent) fraud was "a criminal offense" and suggested Raffensperger was taking a "big risk" by refusing to act. Georgia election law enforcement attorneys listening to the call immediately recognized this as pressure that could constitute solicitation of election fraud.

Raffensperger's office published the audio recording the next day. Raffensperger and his family had already been receiving death threats from Trump supporters; the publication of the call intensified the harassment.

The Broader Scheme

The Georgia call was not isolated. It was part of a coordinated multi-state effort to pressure election officials, legislators, and courts to reverse or delay certification of the 2020 election results. Trump or his allies made similar calls to officials in Michigan, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The legal and political architecture of this scheme was documented in detail by the House Select Committee on January 6 and by Special Counsel Jack Smith's federal indictment.

Indictment and Prosecution

In August 2023, a Fulton County, Georgia grand jury indicted Trump and 18 co-defendants on 41 counts under Georgia's RICO statute and related election interference laws. Several co-defendants pleaded guilty and agreed to testify; Trump did not. The case was significantly delayed by litigation over the recusal of District Attorney Fani Willis, and by Trump's claim of presidential immunity — a claim the Georgia courts must separately assess from the federal immunity questions resolved by the Supreme Court in 2024.