Wisconsin's top election official conveyed confidence in the integrity of the voting process despite Donald Trump's presidential campaign claim of "voting irregularities" occurring across the state and saying it would request a recount in this battleground state.
“They are finding Biden votes all over the place — in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. So bad for our Country!” Trump tweeted.
They are finding Biden votes all over the place — in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. So bad for our Country!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 4, 2020
Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe did not directly respond to the president’s remarks but said the election process had no surprises and followed state laws, which do not permit the counting of absentee ballots before election day and allows municipalities to count absentee ballots at a central location.
“There are no dark corners or locked doors in elections,” Wolfe said during a Wednesday news briefing. “Anybody was free to watch those processes as they unfolded yesterday.”
People are also reading…
Unofficial election results reported by Wisconsin counties show Biden ahead by about 20,500 votes of the roughly 3.2 ballots cast. All ballots have been counted with the exception of one town, Windsor in Richland County, that has about 300 registered voters.
Under a law passed in 2017, a recount can be requested if the margin between the first- and second-place candidates is within 1%.
Wisconsin has had practice in recounts. It was the only state to complete a presidential recount in 2016, Wolfe said.
Green Party candidate Jill Stein requested the recount and the results didn't change much. Trump won the state by fewer than 23,000 votes.
Stein's campaign had to pay about $3.5 million to cover the cost of the recount. If official results show the race being decided by a quarter of a percentage point or less, the state picks up the tab.
"(The 2016 recount) showed we had a really good process," Wolfe said. "We have a really good system and local election officials are doing a phenomenal job. I believe that that would be the case if we had a recount again in our state that you would find we have a really solid system here and that there's an incredible paper trail for every single request, registration and ballot that's been cast."
The recount process takes place at the county level, Wolfe said. Clerks record any abnormalities in their inspector statements.
For now, attention turns toward certifying election results. Each of Wisconsin's 1,850 municipalities must complete their counts by 4 p.m. Wednesday. Then, counties begin canvassing and results are certified by the state Elections Commission by Dec. 1.
State Journal reporter Chris Hubbuch contributed to this report.
Photos: Election 2020 voting
Photos: Election 2020 voting
Poll worker MacGregor Wale greets voters Tuesday at the Catholic Multicultural Center in Madison.
Poll worker Crystal Schoen greets election day voters Tuesday at the Catholic Multicultural Center in Madison.
People wait to vote at Elver Park in Madison on Tuesday morning. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and a record number of absentee ballots cast, many voters said they felt more secure casting ballots in person in what most agreed is the most consequential election of their lifetime.
Keizan Sato works with absentee ballots Tuesday at Mendota Elementary School on Madison's North Side.
Election Day voting at Mendota Elementary School on Madison's North Side.
Esther Martin, left, and Keizan Sato process absentee ballots Tuesday at Mendota Elementary School on Madison's North Side.
Poll worker Paul Hartwig wipes down voting booths Tuesday at Mendota Elementary School on Madison's North Side.
Chief inspector Pat Butler oversees voting Tuesday at Mendota Elementary School on Madison's North Side.
Voters in the town of Wrightstown, south of De Pere, placed their once-used pens in a bucket after voting as part of the town's efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 on Election Day.
Voters in the town of Wrightstown, south of De Pere, voted in every other booth to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Voters enter the town of Wrightstown polling place in Brown County Tuesday.
About 80 people were in line at the polling site at the Swan Club in De Pere when the polls opened Tuesday. Brown County is a key area of the state for both presidential candidates.
Voters wait in line on the dance floor at the Swan Club, a banquet hall — and today, a polling place — in the Brown County city of De Pere.
A poll worker handles voting slips Tuesday at Olbrich Botanical Gardens on Madison's East Side.
Buck Rhyme, middle, checks in a voter before handing out a ballot slip Tuesday at Olbrich Botanical Gardens on Madison's East Side.
Voters wait to check in Tuesday at Olbrich Botanical Gardens on Madison's East Side.
After receiving her ballot from poll worker Sharon Gaskill, right, Hailey Zimmerman prepares to vote at the Vermont Town Hall in Vermont, Wis. Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Poll worker Kris Antonie processes absentee ballots at the Vermont Town Hall in Vermont, Wis. Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Town of Vermont, Wis. clerk Katie Zelle shares a space designated for election observers while waiting for voters at the Vermont Town Hall Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Peter Antonie and his wife, Kris, process absentee ballots at the Vermont Town Hall in Vermont, Wis. Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Pens used by voters share a tray at the Vermont Town Hall in Vermont, Wis. Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
A former one room schoolhouse, which now serves as the Vermont Town Hall in Vermont, Wis., opened it doors to voters participating in the 2020 fall election Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Chief inspector Don Eggert hands a sealed bag of absentee ballots to poll workers Alice Howard, left, and Courtney Bartunek to be counted Tuesday at the Boys and Girls Club polling place on Madison's South West Side. Howard and Bartunek were among Madison's 3,993 first-time poll workers.
Michelle Masterson takes a selfie in front of the "I Voted Today" sign outside Oregon Village Hall polling place in Oregon, Wis., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
First Lutheran Church polling place in Stoughton, Wis., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Poll worker Joyce Kaping cleans a protection barrier during down time between voters at First Lutheran Church polling place in Stoughton, Wis., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
A sign outside a polling place at the fire station in Stoughton, Wis., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Samantha Nelson casts her vote, with her daughter and nieces by her side, at First Lutheran Church in Stoughton, Wis., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Voter Hunter Payne, 21, right, goes over information with poll worker Jenny Baseman before receiving his ballot at First Lutheran Church in Stoughton, Wis., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Maureen Nortridge fills out her ballot at First Lutheran Church in Stoughton, Wis., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Poll workers, including Stoughton High School students, David Stracener, left, and Amelia Rhinerson, with Heidi Heffron-Clark, at right, process absentee ballots at First Lutheran Church in Stoughton, Wis., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Sandra Dickman fills out her ballot in a tent at Elver Park in Madison, Wis., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Voter Alexander Boatwright, left, checks his address with poll workers Karen Carlson and Anders Clark, right, in a tent used as a polling location at Elver Park in Madison, Wis., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Poll worker Candace McDowell directs a voter inside a tent used as a polling place at Elver Park in Madison, Wis., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
