Wisconsin Recount Results Day 9: 1,322 Net Changes Made

Sixty four out of Wisconsin’s 72 counties had completed the Wisconsin recount as of Day 9, with at least 1,322 net votes changed since the recount began, according to the Wisconsin Election Commission.

The errors have included everything from jammed ballots to voters using the wrong pens, but they have not represented a significant shift at all in Donald Trump’s overall margin of victory.

Since both Trump and Hillary Clinton gained votes overall, the net result is almost nil, and Trump retains his 22,000-plus vote lead with Clinton only gaining a net 49 more votes after nine days of counting. However, there are a few catches: The City of Milwaukee tallies are still not public, even though Milwaukee has now finished counting. All of Republican stronghold Waukesha County was not yet reported on day 9. Populous Dane County, a Democratic stronghold that includes the state capitol, is not expected to finish its hand recount until Monday, said Fox 6 Milwaukee.

Meanwhile, on December 9, a federal judge rejected an effort from Trump supporters to stop the recount.

“It is crystal to me that I don’t have the basis for stopping the recount,” Judge James Peterson said, according to Wispolitics.com.

The Commission, which reported the new totals at midday on December 9, said, “All (counties) appear to be on schedule to finish by the deadline on Monday.” Meeting that deadline is necessary for Wisconsin’s electoral votes to count when the Electoral College meets on December 19.

“The total number of ballots counted stands at 2,635,670 which is approximately 88.58% of the total ballots cast for President (3,975,313),” the Election Commission reported for day 9. You can see the raw Day 9 spreadsheet here.

The Commission provided these tallies:

The net change is +1,322 votes. (The candidates gained and lost votes throughout wards in Wisconsin, so the totals below represent the amount they have gained or lost after overall losses are subtracted from overall gains.)

+560 Trump/Pence
+609 Clinton/Kaine
+19 Castle/Bradley
+66 Johnson/Weld
+63 Stein/Baraka
+11 Moorhead/Lilly
-6 De la Fuente/Steinberg

That means that Clinton has gained a net 49 votes over Trump, nowhere near what she would need to prevail in the state.

The day 9 totals still did not include populous City of Milwaukee, which skews historically Democratic. The Commission noted, “The changes in vote totals do not include the City of Milwaukee, which has reported partial numbers for individual reporting units (wards or combinations of wards) because it is recounting absentee ballots separately. Milwaukee is included in the 88.5 percent completed figure.” Fox 6 Milwaukee said Milwaukee County completed its recount at 8 p.m. on December 8. However, the Election Commission expressly said its totals did not include the City of Milwaukee yet, leaving a last lingering place for potential drama.

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The City of Milwaukee returns were expected shortly; however, as of late evening on December 9, they still had not materialized without explanation as to why. WISN-TV Milwaukee quoted Milwaukee County Clerk Joe Czarnezki as saying all Milwaukee ballots had now been counted. He told the TV station only “minor errors” were found; Channel 12 said reports were being finalized and data needed to be entered.

Also on December 9, an Indianapolis election observer named Amber Cleveland alleged she observed irregularities in Republican stronghold Waukesha County and an organization contended she was urged to publicize them by the Democratic Secretary of State, Doug LaFollette. She is a Green Party observer.

On December 7, the Election Commission had decried claims it said were being made on “fake news” sites about Waukesha County, writing, “Votes for Trump/Pence are not being counted twice in Waukesha County. Ballots can be inserted in scanners face up or face down. Before ballots are scanned, campaign representatives have already had a chance to view and question them.”

The Election Commission provided explanations for these changes for the Day 9 tallies:

Ashland County: Original election results were inadvertently entered as recount results for the Day 6 update. The recount results have been correctly updated to the Day 9 spreadsheet.

Calumet County: Increase of 15 ballots in City of Chilton Wards 1-5 because ballots were marked incorrectly on Election Day. Voter intent was determined during recount canvas. +11 votes for Trump/Pence and +4 votes for Clinton/Kaine.

Dane County: Increase of 12 votes in City of Verona Wards 2-4 due to ballots being counted as part of City of Verona Wards 1,5 in error on Election Day.

Eau Claire County: Increase of 14 votes in City of Eau Claire Ward 39 due to ballots that were marked incorrectly on Election Day, where the recount canvass determined voter intent, and the addition of 5 absentee ballots that were not counted on Election Day.”

Green Party candidate Jill Stein requested the Wisconsin Recount and shelled out $3.5 million in donated money for it. A recount she requested in Michigan was ended by a federal judge, and a Pennsylvania recount request is bogged down in courts. Nevada completed a partial recount requested by an independent candidate and found almost no change. You can read about that result here: