Inside the Recount

We depart our normally-scheduled construction photos for an inside look at the presidential recount.

Hundreds of poll workers and observers occupied the 186,000-square-foot Wisconsin Center exhibition hall on Friday.

They were joined by the three-member Milwaukee County Election Commission board, members of the Milwaukee County Clerk‘s office, a couple dozen media members and a number of attorneys for both the Joe Biden and Donald Trump campaigns.

County Clerk George L. Christenson leads the effort, which must conclude by December 1st according to state law.

Milwaukee and Dane County are both subject to recounts, paid for in advance by the Trump campaign with a $3 million wire transfer.

The Milwaukee County effort is expected to cost just over $2 million according to an estimated budget submitted to the state. Each municipality will be reimbursed for its costs. Costs per municipality range from $933.60 for the Village of River Hills to $263,250 for the City of Milwaukee, including over $150,000 to use its tabulation equipment.

The budget calls for $649,600 to rent the building, $400,000 for video streaming to the Wisconsin Center’s contracted provider, $166,530 for food, $130,000 in sheriff’s office staffing and $57,850 in parking. The actual labor costs, $162,031.60, are estimated to be less than the cost of food (provided by a convention center contractor).

Starting Friday morning attorneys for both campaigns made arguments on the recount process, while poll workers were cleared to process a handful of absentee ballot envelopes in the afternoon. No ballots were actually counted because of delays in establishing the rules.

Biden currently leads Trump by 20,608 votes across Wisconsin and 182,913 votes in Milwaukee County. A 2016 statewide recount changed the presidential results by just 131 votes.

For more details on how the recount played out, see our earlier coverage. For details on the broader process and the setup, see our coverage from Thursday.

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