President Donald Trump's campaign asked for a partial recount of the presidential vote in Wisconsin in a long-shot bid to overturn the result in a key swing state that helped give President-elect Joe Biden his victory this month.
The campaign filed petitions Wednesday morning for recounts in two heavily Democratic counties: Milwaukee and Dane, which includes the city of Madison. The two counties also account for a majority of Wisconsin's Black population.
"We understand the eyes of the world will be on these Wisconsin counties over the next few weeks," Meagan Wolfe, Wisconsin's chief election official, said in a statement. The Wisconsin Elections Commission said it received $3 million from the Trump campaign; a statewide recount would have cost an estimated $7.9 million.
History suggests little likelihood of Trump being able to overturn the result. Biden's unofficial margin of 20,565 votes — according to The Associated Press — is much larger than the shifts in votes seen in statewide recounts in 2016 and 2011, which each changed the margin of victory by fewer than 1,000 votes.
In an emailed statement, Trump's campaign cited "illegally altered absentee ballots, illegally issued absentee ballots, and illegal advice given by government officials allowing Wisconsin's Voter ID laws to be circumvented." The campaign statement alleges that Wisconsin municipal clerks issued absentee ballots without voters requesting them, among other claims.
Both Dane and Milwaukee counties received a high number of absentee ballot applications for the 2020 election, according to a tally provided by the state.
Wolfe, the state elections chief, has previously said that "we have not seen any credible information to cast any doubt on those unofficial results."
"No evidence has been provided that supports allegations of systemic or widespread election issues," Wolfe said in her Nov. 10 statement. "Unfortunately, we are seeing many concerns that result from this unsubstantiated misinformation."
The recount needs to be completed by Dec. 1, by when the commission must certify the election results. Recount boards can begin meeting Thursday, the commission said.
The Biden campaign, or another interested group, could file a petition for a recount in counties that Trump didn't make a request for. They would have two days in which to file after the first recount was completed, according to Wisconsin statutes.
The estimate of the cost of a full statewide recount in the Midwest state was well above that of the presidential recount in 2016 — driven up by the logistics of local officials conducting the operation amid a spike in the coronavirus.
Scott McDonell, Dane County clerk, said in a call with reporters Wednesday that Biden could pick up votes during a recount in the county, which is a Democratic stronghold that is home to the city of Madison.
"My guess would be that by focusing on Dane and Milwaukee, the end result will be that Biden will have a slight increase in votes, but nothing terribly significant," he said.
