
By Spiffy sperry – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
The Wisconsin recount could have a surprise in store, but not the same surprise everyone thinks, reports the Washington Post.
The recount was initiated by Green Party presidential candidate Stein, and she has been working hard to have recounts issued in multiple states where Trump won by reportedly narrow margins.
It is unlikely the presidential count will change, but some conventional thoughts about politics and voting could change. In particular, it could show that computers are better at counting ballots than humans – something most of us knew for a long time.
Vote Counts Tend to Change
While the discrepancies will not be broad enough to remove Trump from his seat as President-Elect, it is interesting to see how the difference of numbers in votes for one candidate change from the recount and the primary voting.
For instance, if a candidate received 100 votes in the original count and 102 in the recount, the discrepancy would be considered two percent.
For the 2016 election, 90 percent of the votes were cast on electronic optical scanners for counting. These machines may raise some skepticism and questions about whether humans or computers can do a better job doing a count.
Recounts Provide Insight
While the recount may not change much, it is important to realize that a recount helps the country study the accuracy of primary voting methods used. Also, when one set of ballots is counted by hand and then recounted by computer, it is hard to determine which method is accurate.
So far, the recount has shown that some counties had horribly wrong numbers. Already a few jurisdictions have been removed due to human error.
Michigan Recount Underway Too
Trump supporters have been battling in court to stop the recounts, but a judge has ordered that Michigan must begin their recount, says Fox News.
Trump’s supporters were requested a delay of hand counting 4.8 million ballots. However, the judge has denied the request and Michigan must start their recount alongside Wisconsin and soon more states.
Detroit News points out that Trump won narrowly in the state, and the victory is close to the race in 1950; one that was never finished.
Stein backs up her request for a recount saying that she wants to verify if the vote tabulating machines are working as they should. She also has said that the machines could have been tampered with, but she has no evidence for her claims.
Most of the recounts in Michigan are scheduled to start December 5th, and they work their way through the rest of the month. It could be several weeks before the recount numbers are official and released to the media.
Right now, voting officials are verifying if voters marked their ballots correctly. There are issues where there are invalid markings, such as an X or check mark on the outside of the circle. There are also issues where the boxes were not filled in entirely, but they still have a valid enough marketing to be counted for the presidential election.