Dane County, Wisconsin, Completes Recount

Dane County, Wisconsin, Completes Recount
A representative for President Donald Trump (L) looks over a ballot during the presidential recount for Dane County in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 20, 2020. (Andy Manis/Getty Images)
Zachary Stieber
11/29/2020
Updated:
11/29/2020

The second Wisconsin county conducting a recount has completed the process, Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell announced on Nov. 28.

“However, we still need a few hours to reconcile the numbers and complete paperwork,” he said on Twitter.

In Dane County, Trump netted an uptick of 45 votes, mostly because absentee ballot envelopes were found to have lacked voter signatures, witness signatures, or witness addresses, McDonell told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Nov. 29.

Before the recount, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden had 260,157 votes to President Donald Trump’s 78,789 votes, according to unofficial results from McDonell’s office. Biden was ahead statewide by about 20,000 votes.

At stake are Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes.

Dane and Milwaukee counties started recounts on Nov. 20, after the Wisconsin Elections Commission approved a partial recount request from Trump’s campaign. The campaign paid $3 million for the recounts in the two counties.

An election worker shows ballots to representatives for President Donald Trump during the presidential recount for Dane County in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 20, 2020. (Andy Manis/Getty Images)
An election worker shows ballots to representatives for President Donald Trump during the presidential recount for Dane County in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 20, 2020. (Andy Manis/Getty Images)

Trump wrote on Twitter on Nov. 28 that the recount “is not about finding mistakes in the count, it is about finding people who have voted illegally, and that case will be brought after the recount is over, on Monday or Tuesday.”

“We have found many illegal votes. Stay tuned!” he said.

Milwaukee County finished its recount on Nov. 27. The end result there was Biden gaining a net 132 votes.

“I promised that this would be a transparent and fair process, and it was,” Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson told the Journal Sentinel.

“There was an examination of every ballot by election workers, a meticulous recounting of every ballot that was properly cast, a transparent process that allowed the public to observe, a fair process that allows the aggrieved candidate who sought the recount an opportunity to observe and object to ballots they believe should not be counted.”

Several legal matters are ongoing in Wisconsin with regard to election results.

One group filed an emergency petition asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to block the certification of election results because of alleged irregularities. In a response filing on Nov. 27, state election officials said the petition made arguments that rest “on the flimsiest of legal and factual bases.”
Another lawsuit filed last week also seeks to block the state’s certification of election results, arguing that all ballots cast via drop boxes are illegal and should be discarded.