MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee County Election officials say a potential recount of Wisconsin's election results could cost upwards of $7.5 million.
That news coming following a meeting to certify the county's results Monday morning.
Milwaukee County Elections Director Julietta Henry said officials are already now preparing for a "daunting" recount process.
The estimated cost of a recount in Milwaukee County alone is $2,039,03.57. To put that in context, the statewide recount in 2016 costs approximately $2 Million.
The Milwaukee County Board of Election Commissioners met as a County Board of Canvassers to certify the results of the Nov. 3 election at 9 a.m. on Monday.
"Over the last week and a half, our staff has been working around the clock to make sure that we verify and check every single ward," said Henry.
"We open the ballots," said Henry. "We go through the same process we went through, how many ballots did you say you had on Election Day? Count your ballots, they count the ballots, they send the ballots through the machine, they get the tape totals. If there are any discrepancies, you have to explain that to the board,"
With the spread of COVID-19 a continuous threat, in order to practice social distancing and follow COVID-19 protocols, the county says it would need to contract the Wisconsin Center to host the recount process.
If ordered, county officials would have 14 days to complete a recount, making the deadline Dec. 1.
Officials say costs for the recount are significantly higher than they were in 2016 because of COVID-19.
The cost would eventually be picked up by Donald Trump's campaign. The campaign has previously said that they will ask for a recount in Wisconsin.