Wisconsin completes vote canvass as Trump camp mulls recount

The Trump campaign is mulling a recount request in Wisconsin after a statewide canvass showed the president trailing President-elect Joe Biden there by 20,608 votes.

All 72 counties in Wisconsin have now completed their canvassing process, The Associated Press reported. The final tally shows Biden, who has been projected president-elect, with a lead of about 0.6 percentage points, or roughly the same margin President Trump won the state by in 2016.

The Trump campaign previously pledged to request a recount in Wisconsin, but it has not yet submitted one.

“The legal team continues to examine the issues with irregularities in Wisconsin and are leaving all legal options open, including a recount and an audit,” Jenna Ellis, a Trump 2020 legal adviser, said in a statement.

The campaign has until 5 p.m. Wednesday to request a recount. Doing so would cost nearly $8 million, and the campaign has been furiously fundraising in the two weeks since Election Day to cover potential legal expenses.

The campaign has not produced evidence of any widespread fraud or irregularities in Wisconsin or other states, and it’s unlikely a recount would change the outcome given Biden’s margin there. Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) previously said 20,000 votes is a “high hurdle” to overcome with a recount.

Wisconsin is one of several states Biden flipped this year after Trump won it in 2016. Others include Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona. The Trump campaign has filed legal challenges in each of those states, though many of the challenges have been dropped, rejected or only apply to a relatively small number of ballots.