(NewsNation Now) — The recount of presidential ballots in Wisconsin’s two largest counties finished Sunday, confirming that Democratic President-elect Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump in the key swing state by more than 20,000 votes.
Dane County finished its recount on Sunday, according to the county clerk, a few days after Milwaukee County finished its. Each recount produced little change in the final breakdown of the more than 800,000 ballots cast in the state.
Biden lost 91 votes in the recount while Trump lost 46 votes, the Dane County Clerk said at a press conference Sunday.
Trump’s campaign paid $3 million for a recount of the two heavily Democratic counties: Milwaukee and Dane counties.
Milwaukee County completed its recount of presidential ballots Friday, finding only small changes in vote totals. Biden’s lead increased by 132 votes after county election officials recounted over 450,000 votes. Trump had alleged alleged “mistakes and fraud” in the two counties, though he produced no evidence to back up his claims.
The Wisconsin Voters Alliance, a conservative group, has already filed a lawsuit against state election officials seeking to block certification of the results. It makes many of the claims Trump is expected to make. Gov. Tony Evers’ attorneys have asked the state Supreme Court to dismiss the suit. Evers, a Democrat, said the complaint is a “mishmash of legal distortions” that uses factual misrepresentations in an attempt to take voting rights away from millions of Wisconsin residents.
Another suit filed over the weekend by Wisconsin resident Dean Mueller argues that ballots placed in drop boxes are illegal and must not be counted.
The recount needed to be done by Tuesday.
Recounts are not automatic under Wisconsin law. But any losing candidate who is within 1 point of the winner can request one. The original count showed Trump lost by about six-tenths of a point, based on unofficial results. Candidates must pay for recounts if they are more than 0.25 points behind the winner.
Recounts in Wisconsin and across the country have historically resulted in very few vote changes. A 2016 presidential recount in Wisconsin netted Trump an additional 131 votes.
Trump won Wisconsin by fewer than 23,000 votes that year and opposed the recount brought by Green Party candidate Jill Stein.
