US election: Wisconsin recount sees Biden hold state and gain 87 votes
29 November 2020, 17:11 | Updated: 29 November 2020, 17:46
A vote recount in Wisconsin that was ordered by Donald Trump has seen Joe Biden hold the state and gain 87 more votes.
The result means the president has become the first in US history to lose two recounts in two different states, with the other being Georgia.
President-elect Biden defeated the incumbent US leader by more than 20,000 votes in the key swing state of Wisconsin.
Trump and his allies have now failed in 39 out of their 40 post-election litigation cases, with Arizona the other state yet to finalise its results.
Under Wisconsin law, Mr Trump was required to pay for the partial recount - in its two largest counties: Milwaukee County and Dane County - which cost his team $3 million.
His failure to overturn the result further cements his soon-to-be successor's eventual transition to the White House.
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Trump says he will concede if Electoral College confirms Biden's win
The president has repeatedly said there was widespread fraud and voter irregularity in the November ballot without providing evidence for his claims.
However, this week Mr Trump told reporters he "certainly will" leave the Oval Office if the electoral college votes for Joe Biden when electors meet next month.
"It's going to be a very hard thing to concede because we know there was massive fraud," he told the media on Thursday.
Mr Biden won 306 Electoral College votes to Mr Trump's 232 and is almost certain to be inaugurated on 20 January.
When asked if he will leave the White House on Inauguration Day, he replied: "Certainly I will - and you know that. But I think that there will be a lot of things happening between now and 20 January, a lot of things.
"Massive fraud has been found, we're like a third world country."
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The Wisconsin recount is not about finding mistakes in the count, it is about finding people who have voted illegally, and that case will be brought after the recount is over, on Monday or Tuesday. We have found many illegal votes. Stay tuned!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2020
The US leader failed to prevent Michigan officials from certifying the result in the state earlier this month and a hand recount in Georgia also confirmed Mr Biden's victory there.
In Pennsylvania last week, two new court decisions rejected Mr Trump's attempts to halt the vote count in the state.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin's Election Commission will meet on Tuesday to certify Sunday's new result. However, the president and his team have said they will continue to fight in court to prevent the state from moving forward.
“The Wisconsin recount is not about finding mistakes in the count, it is about finding people who have voted illegally, and that case will be brought after the recount is over, on Monday or Tuesday,” Mr Trump wrote in a tweet Saturday.
“We have found many illegal votes. Stay tuned!”
However, even if his legal team did manage to overturn the outcome in Wisconsin - which is worth 10 electoral college votes - it would do little to impact the overall election result, which Mr Biden won with 306 electoral votes.
