Dane County Clerk’s Office concludes election recount; Biden maintains lead
The Dane County Board of Canvass certified the recount results Sunday morning.
MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - The Dane County Clerk’s Office has officially completed it’s recount of the 2020 presidential election—certifying results Sunday.
According to Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell, President-Elect Joe Biden maintained his lead with 260,094 votes. President Donald Trump stood at 78,754 votes after the recount. Though both candidates lost votes after the recount, it resulted in a net gain of 45 votes for the president.
County Clerk Scott McDonell tweeted Saturday that the recount was done, but they still needed time to reconcile some precinct information and get the data ready for certification.
The Board of Canvass met Sunday morning at the Monona Terrace to finish and certify. McDonell emphasized transparency.
“There was absolutely no evidence of voter fraud in this election,” McDonell said, adding later, “I said this from day on that these numbers were not going to change much at all.”
McDonell said over 100 ballots had to be thrown out, mostly for common mistakes like missing signatures or witness addresses.
“They’re a little bit high because of the number of absentee ballots that were cast in Dane County,” McDonell explained, but emphasized that the number was still minor.
President Trump has indicated he could still take legal action, but experts said his claims are not likely to hold up.
“[Courts] may simply refuse to hear [lawsuits] based upon the absence of evidence of fraud,” said UW-Whitewater professor and NBC15′s political analyst Richard Haven.
Haven said courts typically do not step in after votes have already been cast.
“They’re not likely to want to say, ‘We’re going to disenfranchise a lot of voters,’” Haven explained.
On Sunday, McDonell acknowledged the recount request was valid, but he said he was frustrated only Dane and Milwaukee counties were targeted.
“A lot of these objections...would be true in Waukesha, in Door,” he said, adding, “Only Dane and Milwaukee are being targeted for that objection, which to me is clearly an equal protection violation under the Constitution.”
Haven added the claims of fraud in these counties could have long-term effects.
“It is, unfortunately, I think, damaging to what is a very good process,” he said.
The next step is for the Wisconsin Elections Commission will certify the entire state’s results on Tuesday.
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