MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee’s Wisconsin Center is ready to go the recount of the presidential election votes on Friday. TMJ4 News got a look inside the recount room earlier Thursday. The ballots were brought into the Wisconsin Center and secured.
“We will have the room secured 24 hours so no one can tamper with any of the evidence that is in here. Which is everything that happened on election night,” said Julietta Henry, director of Milwaukee County Elections.
Almost the entire third floor of the Wisconsin Center is dedicated to the recount effort. That is 188-thousand square feet.
Before COVID-19, the rooms could fit close to 20,000 people. The Milwaukee Elections Commission is ready to fit around 2,000 people inside including the public. They believe that leaves enough room for everyone to social distance. Plus, observers are going to be about three to four feet from the table. Then, if a ballot is in question will have the ability to look at it not only close up, but they can bring it to an overhead projector.
“When there is an issue of objection to the ballot they would come up to us,” said George Christenson, Milwaukee County Clerk. “There is like an overhead projector there and the ballot will be put under there so that way the public and the media can see it up on the screen. So once again trying to be as transparent as possible.”
The recount will officially get underway Friday at 9 a.m. You can come and watch it in person, but you have to wear a mask and pass a COVID-19 screening and security screening before entering the building.