The Wisconsin Elections Commission on Monday rejected former Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein’s request to have all of the state’s ballots recounted by hand, instead leaving it up to the state’s counties to determine how it will proceed.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported the commission refused to mandate how the state’s 72 counties should count votes. Instead, the individual counties will decide whether to use a voting machine or go by hand.
It’s a blow for Stein, who claims there are irregularities with the machines Wisconsin uses to tabulate votes on each ballot. If she wants to force a recount by hand, she will have to get a court order, according to the report.
The commission set up a timeline for the recount: Cost estimates and vote tabulation method must be provided by county clerks on Monday; Stein and Rocky De La Fuente, an independent candidate who also asked for a recount, must pay for the recounts on Tuesday; a teleconference will take place on Wednesday to outline the process; and the rules and the recount will officially begin by Thursday.
By Dec. 13, the recount must be finished, according to federal law.
Stein raised millions of dollars last week in order to pay for the recount in Wisconsin. She also plans to file for recounts in Pennsylvania and Michigan. President-elect Trump won those states by slim margins, putting him over the top in the Electoral College.
Trump is currently losing the popular vote by more than 2 million votes.
