Wisconsin Recount Finds 132 More Biden Votes — And Costs Trump $3 Million
Reprinted with permission from Alternet
The re-election campaign of soon-to-be-former President Donald Trump spent $3 million for a recount of votes in Wisconsin in the hopes of throwing out tens of thousands of absentee and early ballots cast in support of President-elect Joe Biden.
But Trump's $3 million dollar gambit hasn't paid off. In fact, it actually increased Biden's lead over him by 132 votes. As Slate explains, Trump was specifically asking for recounts in Dane and Milwaukee Counties, two Democratic strongholds where Biden beat Trump by over 360,000 votes total.
"By the end of the recount in Milwaukee County, Biden's total had increased by 257 votes, from 317,270 to 317,527. Trump also saw an increase in votes, boosting his total by 125 votes to 134,482," Slate wrote, showing how Biden ended up even further ahead. The new votes were originally excluded from the county's total due to "human error."
"In Dane County, Trump has gained 68 votes over Biden but the recount there isn't expected to finish until Sunday," Slate continued. The state is expected to certify its election results on Tuesday, December 1.
On Tuesday, Republicans filed a lawsuit not only asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to stop the certification of the presidential election results, but also aiming to grant the power to name presidential electors to the state's Republican-controlled Legislature, the Associated Press reported. But if Trump's over 30 failed lawsuits seeking to overturn the election are any indication, this one won't be any more successful.
The lawsuit was filed by Erick Kaardal, an attorney and former Minnesota Republican Party official, who filed as a representative of a conservative group called the Wisconsin Voters Alliance. He filed the suit on behalf of the organization and several Republican voters. He also led an unsuccessful lawsuit before the election to get rapper Kanye West on the ballot.