Wisconsin’s historic presidential recount ended Monday resulting in a net gain of 131 votes for President-elect Donald Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton, the Wisconsin Elections Commission said. Trump added 844 votes to his total for the Nov. 8 election, while Clinton added 713. Overall, the commission said, voters cast 2.976 million ballots. The recount resulted in a net increase of 837 ballots. “Completing this recount was a challenge, but the real winners are the voters,” Elections Commission Chairman Mark Thomsen said in a statement after signing off on the statewide results. “Based on the recount, they can have confidence that Wisconsin’s election results accurately reflect the will of the people, regardless of whether they are counted by hand or by machine.” The last statewide recount, in a 2011 Supreme Court race, resulted in a net change of 312 votes for the top two candidates out of 1.5 million ballots cast.
The commission originally advised county clerks to complete their recount process by 8 p.m. Monday so it could certify the results on Tuesday, the last day federal law guarantees a state’s electoral votes will reflect the popular vote when the Electoral College convenes on Dec. 19.
On Monday, the boards of canvassers in the final four counties — Dane, Milwaukee, Outagamie and Rock — certified their results. Dane County was the last to complete ballot-counting, on Saturday night.
The recount of nearly 3 million votes began Dec. 1 after Green Party candidate Jill Stein paid the estimated $3.5 million cost.
Full Article: Completed Wisconsin recount widens Donald Trump’s lead by 131 votes | Politics and Elections | host.madison.com.