Milwaukee County Recount Underway

The Milwaukee County recount of the presidential election is underway after the Trump campaign’s procedural requests stopped the recount within half an hour of it starting.

At 10:24 a.m. Friday, the Milwaukee County Board of Canvassers authorized the process of reconciling ballots and for the recount to begin. By 10:25 a.m. Stewart Karge, an attorney for and the designated representative of the Trump campaign, asked that procedural changes be made because of concerns raised by Trump recount observers. At 10:40 a.m. the reconciliation of ballots ceased and the recount was brought to a standstill for over four hours.

Specifically, the Trump observers had trouble looking through the plexiglass barriers between them and the vote tabulators.

“I have been informed by our observers that this procedure does not allow them to see and observe the ballots,” said Karge. “I object to that as an inadequate opportunity for us to observe the ballots and this recount.”

Currently Joe Biden holds a lead of 20,427 votes in Wisconsin, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission. The Trump campaign has called for a partial recount of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee and Dane Counties, because Biden’s lead in the state is within the margin for a recount, according to Wisconsin statute 9.01.

Karge requested that all written applications for absentee ballots be present and set aside for viewing by observers. Karge also requested that absentee ballots be set aside under certain criteria. These included absentee ballot envelopes having either red or two different colored inks between the witness signature and address, absentee ballots without a written application and both absentee ballot envelopes and applications of indefinitely confined voters.

“We believe that these requests will speed up the process,” said Karge.

“It seems to me that setting aside categories of objections makes some sense and they can be dealt with as a category rather than individually,” said Christopher Meuler, an attorney for and designated representative of the Biden campaign.

After arguments were made by both campaign representatives the Board of Canvassers went into closed session at 11:26 a.m. to discuss the requests brought forth by the Trump Campaign. Two and a half hours later the board reconvened in open session with their ruling on the requests made by the Trump campaign.

Commissioners Rick Baas, Dawn Martin and Tim Posnanski fully agreed to four of the eight requests brought forth by the Trump campaign. The board did not grant three of the requests made by the Trump campaign.

Meuler and the Biden campaign objected to the need for the applications for absentee ballots to be onsite.

“The envelope [for absentee ballots] literally says this is an application,” said Meuler. “It also says that the voter requested this ballot.”

According to Karge, the envelope cannot be counted as an application under Wisconsin statute 6.86 (1)(ar) which states that “the municipal clerk shall not issue an absentee ballot unless the clerk receives a written application therefor from a qualified elector of the municipality.”

This issue had been brought to the Wisconsin Elections Commission previously. The WEC remained deadlocked along partisan lines over revisions to the recount manual that involved absentee ballot applications.

“You cannot have a document, an envelope, that is signed after the ballot has been voted and placed inside the envelope as the application,” said Karge. “The timing requirements matter.”

Trump’s campaign also requested that copies of photo identification related to absentee ballots, all absentee ballot logs (including online logs) and all data related to the tabulating machines used in the recount be provided for observation. This data includes error and audit trails from the presidential election between Nov. 2-5, if any software updates had been performed and the names of the technicians who updated the tabulating machines.

The board agreed to half of this request from the Trump campaign. All data from the tabulating machines used in the recount would be made available. However, the board had none of the data requested from the presidential election counting between Nov. 3-5.

Commissioner Posnanski said that all written applications for absentee ballots were on site, or currently on their way, and would be set aside. The board also agreed that absentee ballots with red or different color ink between the witness signature and witness address, ballots of indefinitely confined voters and absentee ballot logs should be set aside for observation. According to Commissioner Posnanski, the board would provide a report on the absentee ballot applications and logs.

According to Commissioner Posnanski, there were no absentee ballot envelopes without a written application, so none were to be set aside. According to Corporation Counsel Margaret Daun, the envelope acts as the application for in-person absentee ballots, there is a written application form for absentee ballots requested through the mail and there are data sets that are emailed to the clerks of each municipality for absentee ballots requested online.

The other two requests that were not granted by the board were the removal of the plexiglass dividers and providing copies of photo identification of absentee voters. The plexiglass dividers were not removed because the other procedural changes that were suggested by the Trump campaign were meant to alleviate the issues caused by the dividers. According to Commissioner Posnanski, the photo identification of absentee voters was not in their custody. Commissioner Posnanski said the Trump campaign could submit an open records request with the Wisconsin Elections Commission to obtain that information if they would like.

After the ruling of the board was announced by Commissioner Posnanski a motion was made on the eight points and unanimously accepted by the commissioners. Around 3 p.m. absentee ballot reconciliation resumed and the recount was once again underway.