The Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) on Monday signed paperwork to determine the state’s 2020 presidential election results, which fell in favor of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden after a partial recount in two counties, Milwaukee and Dane.
Meagan Wolfe, administrator of the WEC and Wisconsin’s chief election official, said that WEC Chairperson Ann Jacobs is not certifying the presidential race.
“This is a very different process than for the other contests on the November 3 ballot where the WEC Chair does determine the winner and issues certificates of election. There is no certificate of election in a presidential contest,” Wolfe said.
The law requires that the chair determine the result, or the numbers, of the recount and the contest based on the certified result statements submitted by each of the 72 counties, according to an announcement from the WEC.
Wolfe said that the determination or the statement of ascertainment can be modified if ordered by a court upon appeal.
On Saturday, Trump said he would file a lawsuit either on Monday or Tuesday seeking to disqualify as many as 238,000 ballots.
Milwaukee and Dane counties started recounts after the WEC approved Trump campaign’s request for a recount, at a cost of $3 million to the campaign. While Dane County’s recount saw a 45 vote gain for Trump, Milwaukee County saw a 132 net gain for Biden. Results show Biden in the lead by more than 20,680 votes, or about 0.7 percentage points.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul Josh Kaul said in a statement on Monday, “With the partial recount of the presidential election compete, there remains no question that, as usual, this year’s general election in Wisconsin was conducted professionally and securely. There’s no basis at all for any assertion that there was widespread fraud that would have affected the results.”
Republican elections commissioner Bob Spindell said that a final certification of the results would not take place until all legal challenges are resolved.
Two lawsuits were filed in Wisconsin last week seeking to disqualify ballots. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has not taken action on the cases.
Biden has declared victory in presidential election and media outlets have begun referring to him as “president-elect.”
The Electoral College is scheduled to vote on Dec. 14 to decide the outcome of the race. The votes will be counted during the Jan. 6, 2021 Joint Session of Congress in Washington.