"Find 11,780 Votes" — Georgia Election Call
In a recorded hour-long call, Trump pressured Georgia's Secretary of State to "find 11,780 votes" — exactly one more than Biden's margin — to overturn the state's certified results. The call led to his Georgia indictment.
On January 2, 2021 — four days before the Capitol insurrection — Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in an hour-long recorded conversation and pressured him to "find 11,780 votes" — exactly one more than Biden's margin of victory in the state.
During the call, Trump:
- Invoked multiple debunked conspiracy theories about dead voters and drop box stuffing
- Told Raffensperger: "I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have"
- Implied legal consequences: "That's a criminal offense... that's a big risk to you"
- Was joined by Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, and other allies
Raffensperger's team fact-checked Trump's claims in real-time during the call, rebutting each false allegation. Raffensperger refused to comply.
The recording, obtained by The Washington Post the next day, became key evidence in the Fulton County criminal investigation. Trump was ultimately indicted in Georgia on 13 counts related to his efforts to overturn the state's election results — a case that laid bare the most direct attempt by a sitting president to subvert American democracy.