MADISON, WI (Wisconsin Radio Network) – A statewide recount of the votes cast in the presidential race in Wisconsin is on track to finish by next week’s deadline.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission says 34 counties have completed their recounts already and all are expected to be done by December 12 at 8 p.m. Overall, 70 percent of the roughly three million votes cast in the state last month have been recounted.
Officials with the Brown County Clerk’s office say they anticipate finishing their recount Wednesday night. In Outagamie County, officials report they’re about halfway done with their recount.
Based on an analysis of results so far, the WEC says Republican president-elect Donald Trump and running mate Mike Pence are up 410 votes and Democrat Hillary Clinton and running mate Tim Kaine have gained 492 votes. Green Party nominee Jill Stein, who requested and is paying for the recount, has picked up 60 votes.
The results show the Clinton/Kaine ticket has gained 82 votes over the unofficial results. Trump won Wisconsin by more than 22,000 votes.
WEC spokesman Reid Magney said most of the vote total changes have been the result of human error. For example, a voter may have marked their ballot in a way where machines would not have read it properly, which was then discovered during the hand recount.
“FAKE NEWS” STORIES
Magney also responded to several claims being made on social media and through “obscure” websites that he said are based on incorrect, incomplete, or misleading information about the recount.
Those include claims that Trump/Pence votes in Waukesha County were being counted twice and that some ballots were being inserted into machines face down to conceal the results.
Magney said the first was based on a social media post, which has since been deleted, and that there’s no other evidence to show that’s been happening.
On the second, Magney said all campaign representatives have a chance to view a ballot before it goes into the machine and the vote is recorded, while inserting one facedown has no impact on the functionality of the machine.
Another claim has centered on broken warranty seals on scanners used in St. Croix County, which the county attributed to a technician not having replacement seals on hand while servicing them. Based on evidence from the county and the maker of the machines, Magney said they are confident the voting equipment is accurately tabulating and reporting results.
“They say a lie will travel the globe before the truth has a chance to tie its shoes,” Magney said. “There’s a lot of claims out there about this, and unless you see it from a trusted news source…it’s probably not true.”
(WTAQ Reporter Jeff Flynt contributed to this report)
