Georgia certifies the vote, dragging its feet and kicking and screaming.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Friday that [he] will “follow the law” and sign the paperwork that officially grants the state’s 16 electoral votes to President-elect Joe Biden.

Well, nice of him not to announce that he will break the law, I guess.

State law requires Kemp, a Republican, to award Georgia’s electoral votes to the certified winner of the presidential election. A federal judge on Thursday rejected a last-ditch lawsuit that tried to block certification, and Biden’s victory was certified Friday afternoon by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Friday afternoon eastern time – so the GSA should be able to certify the election and release the funds today.

“Earlier today, Secretary Raffensperger presented the certified results of the 2020 general election to my office,” Kemp said at a news conference. “Following Judge Grimsberg’s ruling yesterday, state law now requires the governor’s office to formalize the certification, which paves the way for the Trump campaign to pursue other legal options and a separate recount if they choose.”

It paves the way for Trump to sit down and shut the fuck up, that’s what it paves the way to.

Kemp later added, “As governor, I have a solemn responsibility to follow the law, and that is what I will do.”

Duh. It’s not something to brag about, it’s your damn job.

Biden won Georgia by 12,670 votes, or 0.26% of the nearly 5 million ballots cast statewide, according to final certified results from the Georgia Secretary of State.

Trump won Michigan by 0.23% of the vote in 2016.

Certifying election results is typically a formality, but the process has become the latest battleground in Trump’s longshot attempt to cling onto power. His campaign is trying to block or delay certification in key states in hopes of overturning Biden’s victory through the Electoral College.

The scheme essentially becomes impossible if key states certify their presidential results before December 8, which is known as a “safe harbor” deadline under federal law. Now that Georgia has certified its results, the state has met the deadline and Congress is required to respect these results.

But there’s a catch.

Kemp has until 5 p.m. ET Saturday to sign the paperwork that officially grants Georgia’s 16 electors to Biden, according to state law.

Why has he not already done that?