Riley Vetterkind, @email
MADISON, Wis. – Following Tuesday’s General Election, the Wisconsin Elections Commission is pleased to confirm Wisconsin’s 72 counties have reported 100% of the unofficial results.
Recounts
Recounts may also occur. Recounts for the state level and national offices on the General Election ballot would be filed with the Elections Commission. If the vote totals from the completed county canvasses for such two-candidate contests are separated by 1% or less, the candidate trailing the leading candidate has the right to petition for a recount. Wisconsin does not have automatic recounts, even if the unofficial results are close. There is no cost to the petitioning candidate if the difference between the leading candidate and the petitioner is 0.25% or less. If the difference is more than 0.25%, the WEC will estimate the cost, which must be paid before the recount begins. More information about recounts is available here: https://elections.wi.gov/elections/recounts
A trailing candidate may request a recount only after the completion of the county canvasses and no later than 5 p.m. on the third business day following the last meeting day of the last County Board of Canvassers that completes its canvass. This would be no later than 5 p.m. on Nov. 28.
Post-Election Audit
Wisconsin statutes require a post-election audit of voting systems used in Wisconsin after each General Election. The audit, designed to assess the accuracy and performance of each voting system approved for use in the state, is a public meeting and proper notice must be provided at least 48 hours in advance. A representative sample of reporting units that use each type of voting equipment are included in the selection process. The parameters of each audit are established by the Elections Commission.
During this process, elections workers conduct an independent hand count of paper ballots and tally the results of the contests. The final hand-count tally total is compared to the election night voting system results. Audit materials are submitted to WEC for review. Any discrepancies are investigated by WEC staff. Commission staff may request a vendor investigate and provide explanation for any unexplained discrepancies. WEC may, at its sole discretion, choose to re-test any voting system should unexplainable issues arise in the audit.
For this election, the WEC will audit voting equipment from a 10% random sample of the reporting units statewide. WEC staff met on Wednesday in a public meeting to make the random selection, which includes 369 reporting units in 301 municipalities across Wisconsin.