Washburn County will begin the process for a recount in Wisconsin for the Office of President beginning this Thursday.
Via the Wisconsin Elections Commission....
- The Wisconsin Elections Commission has received a bank wire transfer of $3,499,689 from the Jill Stein presidential campaign to prepay the estimated cost of conducting a statewide recount.
- With payment received, the Commission is issuing an order for the recount to begin on Thursday. The complete schedule is here:http://elections.wi.gov/node/4445
- The campaign of Roque De La Fuente withdrew its recount petition today, and will not be participating financially in the cost of the recount.
- Yesterday, the Commission released an estimate of nearly $3.5 million to the campaigns of Green Party candidate Jill Stein and independent candidate Rocky Roque De La Fuente. Unfortunately, there was an error in adding up figures from the 72 Wisconsin county clerks of their estimated recount costs, and the actual total is $3,898,340.
- At this time, the Commission will not be requiring the Stein campaign to pay the additional amount. When counties report their actual costs, the Commission will either bill the Stein campaign for any costs over the $3.5 million or refund the campaign any unused funds.
Washburn County Clerk, Lolita Olson, stated to DrydenWire.com today that the cost to Washburn County (but not the taxpayers) for the recount will be approximately $10,000, for an estimated 5 days of counting.
Additional or temporary staff will not be required as Washburn County's recount will be conducted by the current Board of Canvass – municipal clerks have been asked to check with their election chiefs and inspectors to see if any of them would be available to also assist with the recount. Washburn County will utilize around 12 tabulators for the recount process.
The recount process will start at 9:00 A.M. on Thursday. This follows the required timeline once the WEC orders the recount. The deadline to complete the recount is December 13th; we anticipate Washburn County's recount to be completed by Wednesday, December 7th, according to Ms. Olson, Washburn County Clerk.
Ms. Olson stated to DrydenWire.com that the basic idea of the recount process is that 2 people will count each ballot by hand and then compare totals with each other; and then will compare those results to the results from the election night. Other comparisons are made beyond just the ballots, i.e. poll books are compared, as are absentee ballots and envelopes, etc.
DrydenWire.com will post the results of the recount. The recount results will also be available on Washburn County's website.
Ms. Olson also stated to DrydenWire.com, “While a recount typically is called for in a close race, a candidate has every right to request a recount. While it may be an inconvenience to the work schedule of many folks, it will show that Wisconsin continues to exhibit the high quality and dedication to the election process as it always has. The county staff, municipal clerks and election chiefs, inspectors, tabulators, greeters and others take this very seriously and are committed to maintaining a high standard of ethics and integrity throughout the election process. The election machines we use in the county are tested to make sure counts are correct prior to each election; the machines are not ever connected to the internet so the notion that hackers can somehow change the intent of the voters’ choice is not at all feasible. Absentee ballots were at an all time high for this election and shouldn’t come as a surprise to the candidates; this is due to the fact that Wisconsin law changed to allow earlier processing of absentees (called “early voting” in some areas) and that the candidates encouraged folks to vote early. Voters took that encouragement seriously and now it’s being questioned. It’s been a very volatile election with tremendous mistrust all around; hopefully we can all come to some point soon where we can all work together, in the same general direction".
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(Press Release) A recount of the votes cast at the November 8, 2016 General Election for the office of President of the United States will begin at the time and location set forth below:
LOCATION: This recount will be held in the meeting room in the lower level of the Law Enforcement Center, 421 Highway 63, Shell Lake, Wisconsin, County of Washburn.
TIME: The recount will commence on Thursday, December 1, 2016, at 9:00 a.m. and continue for the following days (except for Saturday and Sunday as noticed below) until the recount is complete. The daily schedule shall be as follows: The Board of Canvass will be called to order at 9:00 a.m. each day. They will break for 1 hour daily for lunch and will adjourn each day at 4:00 p.m. and reconvene the following day at 9:00 a.m. if necessary.
NOTICE: THIS RECOUNT WILL ADJOURN AT 4:00 P.M. ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2016 AND RECONVENE ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2016.
Last Update: Nov 29, 2016 7:30 pm CST
