Trump campaign to 'immediately' request recount in Wisconsin, citing 'reports of irregularities'

The vote in Wisconsin is super tight: Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden leads President Trump by just 20,517 votes out of more than 3.2 million ballots cast. The margin stands at 49.6% to 48.9%.

The Trump campaign said Wednesday that it will seek a recount "immediately."

"Despite ridiculous public polling used as a voter suppression tactic, Wisconsin has been a razor thin race as we always knew that it would be," said Bill Stepien, Trump 2020 campaign manager. "There have been reports of irregularities in several Wisconsin counties which raise serious doubts about the validity of the results."

"The president is well within the threshold to request a recount and we will immediately do so," Stepien said.

Wisconsin, which Trump won in 2016, holds 10 crucial electoral votes. With half a dozen states still counting, Biden leads Trump 238-213 in the Electoral College vote; the winner must get to 270.

Team Biden said a recount won't matter.

"We are going to win Wisconsin, recount or no recount," said Jen O'Malley Dillon, former vice president Biden's campaign manager.

If the race stays within a 1-point margin, the trailing candidate can request a recount. Before that, however, an official result must be finalized, which could still be days, if not weeks, away.

State law in Wisconsin demands that local election officials complete their vote counts by 4 p.m. on Wednesday. Depending on that outcome, the losing candidate may either demand a full-state recount, or a recount of specific counties. 

The National Guard is assisting in the tallying of thousands of absentee ballots in Wisconsin. 

Polling officials in the state's Outagamie County have asked for at least 22 of the roughly 400 National Guardsmen activated in Wisconsin to assist with transcribing thousands of misprinted absentee ballots into clean ballots, according to a local Fox News station. 

As many as 13,500 such ballots will have to be transcribed in Outagamie and Calumet counties.