Official observers watching the Wisconsin recount of the 2020 presidential election were given wristbands covered with smiling poop emojis on Tuesday.
The recount, which has been going on for five days, is taking place in the Wisconsin Center in downtown Milwaukee, where observers are given a wristband each day to show they have passed a health screening, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
“On previous days, the observer wristbands featured things like ‘VIP’ in gold or purple lettering,” the paper wrote.
But on Tuesday, poop.
Conservative radio talk show host Vick McKenna blasted the bracelets.
“A recount volunteer says she and others were forced to wear these bracelets to participate in recount. Staff, attorneys and volunteers all wearing them. Do these people NOT take elections seriously? @WI_Elections, please tell me why this is acceptable?” she wrote on Twitter.
A recount volunteer says she and others were forced to wear these bracelets to participate in recount. Staff, attorneys and volunteers all wearing them. Do these people NOT take elections seriously? @WI_Elections, please tell me why this is acceptable? @bobspindell @empowerwi pic.twitter.com/U42assscjR
— Vicki McKenna (@VickiMcKenna) November 24, 2020
But the Journal Sentinel said the state panel wasn’t responsible for the poop bracelets, nor were the Milwaukee County officials overseeing the recount. And the paper quoted Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson, who said it was all much ado about nothing.
“I always thought it was chocolate ice cream, personally,” Christenson said. “Wisconsin Center is our vendor. They handle the logistics. They are probably just pulling what they have in stock, because this is the first opportunity they’ve had to be open in quite some time due to this pandemic. So again, it’s a non-issue. Everybody got one.”
Christenson added, “I think this shows that some people are just desperate for any controversy that they hope will distract from the fact that the recount is going smoothly and will confirm the results reported on election night.”
Democrat Joe Biden led President Trump by about 20,000 votes after the initial count in Wisconsin. On Thursday, the Trump campaign requested a recount.
“Our democracy depends on fair and impartial elections that fully adhere to the Constitution and state statute,” Jim Troupis, Wisconsin counsel to the campaign, said in a statement. “We continue to be confident that when all of the legal ballots are counted and illegal ballots are not counted, President Trump will be proven the winner,” Troupis said.
Trump’s reelection campaign requested recounts in two Wisconsin counties, citing what they claim are illegally altered absentee ballots, illegally issued absentee ballots, and “illegal advice given by government officials allowing Wisconsin’s Voter ID laws to be circumvented.” The two counties — Milwaukee and Dane — were chosen because they are the sites with “the worst irregularities,” the campaign said, adding that they have transferred $3 million to Wisconsin to cover the cost of the recounts.
But Wisconsin Elections Commission member Mark Thomsen has dismissed the claims, saying of Trump, “Instead of manning up and saying ‘I lost,’ now he’s saying all the clerks are illegal.”
The Biden campaign also rejected the claims. “The official canvass results reaffirmed Joe Biden’s clear and resounding win in Wisconsin after Wisconsin voters turned out to cast their ballots in record numbers,” said Biden campaign spokesman Nate Evans. “A cherry-picked and selective recounting of Milwaukee and Dane County will not change these results.”
Related: Wisconsin Tells Trump: It’ll Cost You $7.9 Million For A Recount