Donald Trump asked the Georgia Secretary of State in early 2021 to find 11,000 plus votes to win the state.
Posted by What A Day, Checked
- Sources
- 4 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 95%
What A DayOct 22, 2026
Multiple tier1 sources (AP, PolitiFact, Lead Stories) confirm that Trump, on a January 2, 2021 call, asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" about 11,000 votes ("I need 11,000 votes") so he could win the state. The extraction is faithful to the post; the Lead Stories fact check only rejects the word "invent", not the find-votes request.
What was said
… So I think, uh, you know, they're reaching uh and grasping it for straws, but we have to remember who they are and what they have done in the past. Remember, this is a president who asked the secretary of state in early 2021 of Georgia to find, to find, mind you, 11,000 plus more votes that do not exist so he could win that state when he lost, uh, he fueled the um attack on the Capitol, trying to undermine the certification of the president of the United States, who won that election, Joe Biden. He seized ballots in Fulton County, Georgia. …
What A Day · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. AP reports Trump pressed Raffensperger to "find" enough votes to overturn Biden's win, quoting "I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have."[1]
Supports. Lead Stories confirms Trump used the words "find" and "need" in connection with 11,000 votes on the January 2, 2021 call, though he did not say "invent."[2]
Supports. PolitiFact and the AJC document the call, with Trump saying "Fellas, I need 11,000 votes" and asking Raffensperger to find the votes needed to reverse his loss in Georgia.[3][4]
Context. The claim's "that do not exist" framing from the post is not repeated in the extraction, but the core request to find roughly 11,000 votes to win Georgia is documented; the post's characterization of the votes as nonexistent is supported by fact-checkers rejecting the fraud claims behind the call.[3][5]
Sources
5 sources: 3 fact-checkers, 1 not rated, 1 tier 2
- 1Trump, on tape, presses Ga. official to 'find' him votesapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Fact Check: Trump Did NOT Literally Beg Georgia Secretary Of State To 'Invent' 11,000 Votes | Lead Storiesleadstories.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3Donald Trump falsely claims Georgia victory in recorded callpolitifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
- 4Trump called Georgia's top elections official to insist he overturn ...ajc.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Trump Fishes for Votes in Georgia as GOP Senators Fight Over Election Certificationreason.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- Donald Trump requested that 11,000 votes be found during the 2020 election.Can’t tell
- Donald Trump has attempted to interfere in states' elections.True
- Donald Trump pressured Bill Barr to use the Justice Department to support claims of election fraud in 2020.True
- Donald Trump took steps leading up to January 6th that disrupted the counting and certification of the 2024 election results.False
- Donald Trump was indicted in Georgia.True