With no winner declared in the 2020 presidential election, the Trump campaign on Nov. 4 requested a recount in Wisconsin and filed lawsuits to halt vote counting in Michigan and Pennsylvania until Republican observers are granted access to the facilities counting and processing ballots.
In addition to the pending recount in Wisconsin, seven states were still counting votes as of 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 4, a process that may postpone the declaration of a winner for days. Former Vice President Joe Biden was in the lead in Nevada, Arizona, and Michigan. President Donald Trump led in Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, and Alaska.
Neither campaign declared an overall victory, though each candidate signaled his confidence in the ultimate outcome.
“I am confident we will emerge victorious,” Biden said.
Trump declared victories in Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, and Michigan in the evening on Nov. 4. His campaign on the same day filed lawsuits in Pennsylvania and Michigan to guard against alleged schemes by the Democrats “to disenfranchise and dilute Republican votes.”
“We were getting ready to win this election,” Trump said early Nov. 4. “Frankly, we did win this election. So our goal now is to ensure the integrity, for the good of this nation.”
The Trump campaign formally requested a recount in Wisconsin, where Biden led by 0.6 points with 99 percent of the votes tallied. The state’s legislation allows for a recount request when all of the votes have been reported, which hadn’t yet happened as of 6:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 4. If granted, the recount could take up to 13 days.
One of the Pennsylvania lawsuits calls for a court to order a pause in vote counting until Republican observers are granted adequate access to supervise the process. The campaign filed a similar lawsuit in Michigan the same day.
The other Pennsylvania lawsuit challenges a court-ordered deadline extension for first-time voters who need to fulfill a missing-identification requirement. The campaign is also intervening in a separate Pennsylvania deadline extension case pending before the Supreme Court…
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