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President Trump and Joe Biden remain neck-and-neck the morning after Election Day in the critical swing state of Wisconsin with thousands of ballots still to be counted.
The former vice president has a slight lead over Trump — 49.4 to 49.1 percent — thanks to a late surge in votes from Milwaukee, but the race remains too close to call.
Wisconsin couldn’t begin tallying absentee ballots until Election Day, and the counting continued overnight and may extend into Wednesday afternoon.
Neither candidate has reached the 270 Electoral College vote threshold.
The Badger State has 10 electoral votes up for grabs.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission said 1.9 million people returned absentee ballots by Monday, Wisconsin Public Radio reported.
But counting the ballots involves a laborious process for poll workers, who have to check for signatures, address and witness statements before the envelopes are opened, the report said.
Patrons at the Whiskey Ranch Bar and Grill watch election returns in Janesville, Wisconsin, yesterday.Scott Olson/Getty ImagesAt that point, they can be inserted into tabulating machines.
Earlier today, Trump claimed Democrats were using “fraud” to steal votes and threatened to take the issue to the Supreme Court.
“Millions and millions of people voted for us tonight. And a very sad group of people is trying to disenfranchise that group of people, and we won’t stand for it,” Trump said in a speech from the White House.
“This is a fraud on the American public. This is an embarrassment to our country. We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election. So our goal now is to ensure the integrity,” he said.
Trump’s Democratic challenger said he was confident about the vote and called for all ballots to be counted.
Election workers count absentee ballots into the early morning in Milwaukee at a central counting facility.Stephen Groves/AP“We feel good about where we are. We really do. I’m here to tell you tonight that we believe we’re on track to win this election,” Biden said in a speech early Wednesday in Wilmington, Del.
“We knew because of the unprecedented early mail-in vote that it was going to take a while. We’re going to have to be patient until the hard work of tallying votes is finished and it ain’t over until every vote is counted, every ballot is counted,” he said.
With Post wires
