Resigns as secretary of state

Georgia's Kemp resigns as secretary of state with governor's race still undecided

By Gregory Krieg, Kaylee Hartung and Devon M. Sayers

Georgia Republican Brian Kemp announced on Thursday he will resign as secretary of state, effective at 11:59 a.m. ET, to begin his transition to the state's top office, despite the race still being undecided.

CNN has not projected a winner in the race, which could still go to a run-off if Kemp's share of the vote drops below 50%. He is currently at 50.3%, with a lead of nearly 63,000 votes.

"On Tuesday, we earned a clean and convincing victory at the ballot box," Kemp said at a press conference on Thursday morning. "In light of where we are now, this will give public confidence to the certification process. "

Stacey Abrams has not conceded and her campaign is expected to address reporters again later Thursday. They are insisting every vote be counted before making any decision. Both the campaign and the Democratic Party of Georgia called on Kemp to step down as the state's chief elections officer during the campaign, which he oversaw while also competing in.

"Our opponent has had his office declare himself the victor and we do not accept that," the Abrams campaign said in a call with reporters Wednesday evening.

They are also asking for Kemp's secretary of state office to be transparent about the number of ballots yet to be counted. The campaign told reporters it will not accept the secretary of state's data on outstanding ballots without evidence.

"They are trying to force an outcome ... without proof," the campaign said, "and expecting everyone to go along with it."

The Kemp campaign has argued that there are not enough outstanding ballots to force a potential run-off.

"Based on counts released by the Secretary of State's office, Brian Kemp's margin is so large that the number of provisional ballots and overseas ballots will not change his Election Day victory," Cody Hall, the Kemp campaign's press secretary, had said in a statement. "Simply put, it is mathematically impossible for Stacey Abrams to win or force a run-off election."

Gov. Nathan Deal has announced plans to swear in Robyn Crittenden as the interim secretary of state.

In a statement from Kemp's office early Thursday, Lorri Smith, the assistant deputy secretary of state and chief operations officer, said, "We are excited to welcome Robyn A. Crittenden to the agency to serve as our Secretary of State."