MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Elections Commission has ordered a partial recount of presidential election results in Dane and Milwaukee counties after receiving a recount petition and payment from President Donald Trump’s campaign.
The order comes following a Wednesday evening meeting from the commission, which unanimously approved the recount order, and the Trump campaign’s announcement that they were going through with filing for a recount.
The recount order requires Dane and Milwaukee counties boards of canvassers (BOCs) to convene by 9 a.m. Saturday, and complete their work by noon on Dec. 1. The county BOCs may start their work now.
The Dane County BOC will meet at Monona Terrace in Madison. The Milwaukee County BOC will meet at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee. Each BOC will issue its own public notice for starting and meeting times, and must include 24 hours public notice.
At its meeting Wednesday, the WEC also unanimously approved changes to its Recount Manual designed to ensure representatives of both presidential campaigns have access to ballots and other materials during the recount. The revised Recount Manual with changes to the observer and public health sections highlighted will be posted shortly to the commission’s website. The rest of the manual remains unchanged.
“… it is clear that the ballots and materials must be available for candidates and their representatives to view and offer any objections to a ballot being counted,” the revised manual states.
Democrat Joe Biden received 577,455 votes in these counties, compared with 213,157 for Trump. Biden won statewide by 20,608 votes, based on canvassed results submitted by the counties.
The Trump campaign said Dane and Milwaukee counties, both heavily liberal, were the sights of the “worst irregularities," and cited illegally altered absentee ballots, illegally issued absentee ballots, and illegal advice given by government officials. This comes although no evidence of wrongdoing has been presented and state elections officials have said there was none.
“We understand the eyes of the world will be on these Wisconsin counties over the next few weeks,” said Meagan Wolfe, administrator of the WEC and Wisconsin’s chief election official. “We remain committed to providing information about the process and assisting our county clerks by providing facts on the mechanics of a recount and status updates.”
The timeline for the recount:
Nov. 18, 6:00 p.m. – The Wisconsin Elections Commission holds a special meeting to discuss details of the partial recount for president and to review supplements to the Recount Manual in light of public health guidance. Information about the meeting and how to attend online is available here: https://elections.wi.gov/node/7247.
Nov. 19 – The Commission Chair issues the Recount Order. This starts the 13-day recount clock and is also the first day that recount boards can meet.
Nov. 21, 9:00 a.m. – The deadline by which county boards of canvassers must convene for the recount (no later than 9:00 a.m. on the third day after the recount order is issued).
Dec. 1 – The deadline to complete the recount. This is also the deadline, under Wisconsin law, for WEC to certify results from the General Election. Therefore, recounts must be completed and results must be filed with WEC by noon.
Complete information about Wisconsin’s recount laws and procedures is available here: https://elections.wi.gov/elections-voting/recount.