Cobb extends working hours for election recount

11/17/2020 Ñ  Marietta, Georgia Ñ A Cobb County elections worker continues to count and sort ballots during a Cobb County  hand recount of Presidential votes at the Jim Miller Park Event Center  in Marietta, Tuesday, November 17, 2020.  (Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com)

Credit: Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com

Credit: Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com

11/17/2020 Ñ Marietta, Georgia Ñ A Cobb County elections worker continues to count and sort ballots during a Cobb County hand recount of Presidential votes at the Jim Miller Park Event Center in Marietta, Tuesday, November 17, 2020. (Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com)

Longer days lie ahead for Cobb elections workers as they race to finish the recount of the presidential election before the state’s deadline Wednesday.

Workers next week will work from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. instead of their usual 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the possibility of continuing even later Wednesday.

The recount is taking place at the Jim R. Miller Event Center on Calloway Rd. in Marietta and is open to the public for observation.

The county is using eight scanning machines to process more than 390,000 ballots cast in the presidential race. The recount is being carried out at the request of President Donald Trump, who narrowly lost to President-elect Joe Biden by less than half a percentage point.

Governor Brian Kemp certified the results of Georgia’s election last week. The recount is not expected to alter the race’s outcome.