A secret recording reveals former U.S. President Donald Trump demanded Georgia officials locate 11,000 [1] additional votes to overturn the 2020 election results.
The recording provides a direct account of attempts to alter certified election outcomes. It highlights the pressure placed on state officials to change results based on claims of fraud.
The interaction occurred Jan. 2, 2021, at the Georgia State Capitol [1]. The meeting took place with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger the day after Raffensperger held a press conference regarding the 2020 results [1].
Jordan Fuchs, a former aide to Raffensperger, secretly recorded the conversation. Fuchs said, “I was stunned when I heard the former president say he needed 11,000 votes. It was a clear attempt to overturn the election” [1].
According to the recording, Trump said, “I need 11,000 votes, that’s it. I’m going to win. I’m going to win” [1]. Other accounts of the exchange vary slightly in wording. A chief of staff for Raffensperger said Trump told staff to “find 11,000 votes” [2].
Trump maintained that the 2020 election outcome in Georgia was fraudulent [1, 2]. The demand for the specific number of votes was intended to reverse the certified totals in the state [1].
Fuchs and other officials involved in the Georgia election certification process have since detailed the nature of these requests. The recording serves as a primary record of the specific numerical target Trump sought to reach to secure a victory in the state [1, 2].
““I need 11,000 votes, that’s it. I’m going to win. I’m going to win.””
The emergence of this recording provides documented evidence of the specific numbers and directives used by the former president to pressure election officials. By quantifying the exact number of votes sought, the recording moves the conversation from general claims of fraud to a specific request to alter the certified vote count, which carries significant implications for legal interpretations of election interference.
