Wisconsin elections board votes to start recount on Thursday

Members of the Wisconsin Elections Commission voted on Monday to set in motion a plan for a speedy recount of the vote for President in that state, even as the head of that panel very publicly said he does not believe the recount will push Donald Trump out of the lead in the Badger State.

"I think ultimately, at the end of the day, the count is going to be the same," said Marc Thomsen, a Democrat who chairs the elections board.

"I don't doubt that the President-Elect is going to win that vote," Thomsen added.

Trump leads by over 27,000 with all votes counted in Wisconsin.

But before any recount can begin, the cost of it must be paid for in advance by the candidates who are asking for the recount.

At this time, both Green Party candidate Jill Stein, and Roque De La Fuente, who ran under the banner of both the Reform Party and the American Delta Party, have submitted a recount petition - and would have to bear those costs.

The two candidates will be told by this evening how much money the recount will cost, and a full payment is required by Tuesday afternoon at 4:30 pm Central Time.

If that money is paid in full - and on time - then the recount would start on Thursday. The goal is to have it finished by December 12.

After a morning commission meeting to set out the recount plans, Thomsen and others on the board frowned on talk by Stein that somehow there was hacking of voting machines in their state.

"We are skeptical of any claims that voting equipment is not working correctly or being tampered with in the state of Wisconsin," said elections administrator Mike Haas, as he told reporters that it would not be easy to change voting numbers.

"Among those reasons are, it is not connected to the internet, we have a number of different systems in place in the state," Haas added.

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