President Trump’s campaign filed petition today for recounts in Dane and Milwaukee counties, alleging issues with absentee ballots issued in the heavily Dem counties.
In a statement this morning, Trump’s campaign alleged municipal clerks illegally altered incomplete absentee ballots, a “substantial number” of those who claimed to be indefinitely confined inappropriately cast absentee ballots without providing photo ID and clerks didn’t require written requests for absentee ballots during early, in-person voting.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission has already rejected the suggestion that clerks had inappropriately completed missing information on the address section for witnesses on absentee ballots. The commission noted that advice has been in place since October 2016.
Meanwhile, there is already a case pending before the Wisconsin Supreme Court on the advice that local clerks gave voters about the indefinitely confined declaration during the spring election as the COVID-19 pandemic began to take off in the state.
The campaign also claimed a written application is required before an absentee ballot is issued. But those who voted during the in-person, early voting period between Oct. 20 and Nov. 1 weren’t required to fill out a written request first.
The campaign transferred $3 million to the state overnight to cover the projected cost of recounts in the two counties.
Jim Troupis, an attorney for the campaign, said the “true results” won’t be known until only legal ballots are counted.
“We will not stop fighting for transparency and integrity in our electoral process to ensure that all Americans can trust the results of a free and fair election in Wisconsin and across the country,” Troupis said.
Biden’s Wisconsin spokesman Nate Evans said the official canvass reaffirmed Biden’s “clear and resounding win” and a “cherry-picked and selective recounting of Milwaukee and Dane County will not change these results.”
See the release here.
