Milwaukee is ordering a recount of 31,000 absentee ballots, which could delay results in Wisconsin.

Election officials in Milwaukee said Tuesday they will continue to recount more than 30,000 absentee ballots because of data sharing problems, an error expected to delay the reporting of results in the tense nation.

Milwaukee city spokesman Jeff Fleming told reporters Tuesday that officials decided to recount the 31,000 absentee ballots after discovering problems with 13 tabulator machines.

The machines either didn’t have their stamps on them or weren’t properly secured by senior election officials, Fleming said. Everything will be reset and reloaded.

The decision to recount absentee ballots was made in consultation with Republican and Democratic Alliance officials, according to a district spokesperson.

GOP PREPARED FOR CRITICAL FIELD BATTLES THAT COULD DECIDE 2024 ELECTION

Fleming told reporters Tuesday that the decision to recount the vote was made “out of an abundance of caution,” as he acknowledged that delaying the recount could affect the results of the statewide election.

Milwaukee is the largest city in Wisconsin, which is one of seven states considered important in deciding the next president.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, arrives to speak during a campaign rally at the Wisconsin State Fair Expo in West Allis, Wis., Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Wisconsin is also one of the most competitive states in the 2024 election cycle.

The Badger State is also one of three Rust Belt states that voted for Trump in 2016 before he flipped in 2020 to elect Joe Biden.

Biden narrowly won the state in 2020 with 20,682 votes. The narrow victory gives the state more incentive to be as transparent and careful as possible in the vote counting and reporting process, Fleming stressed Tuesday.

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“What needs to be redone is what happens on the wall in the machines,” Fleming told reporters. “It’s going to add some time to when we’re going to get the prices here. We don’t know how long that’s going to take. So, it’s not a small thing.”

Republicans blamed Milwaukee for the mistake Tuesday evening, describing it as “an unacceptable example of election mismanagement in an important situation.”

A man wearing a Trump wig and a flag. Luzerne County, typically a Democratic stronghold, flipped the election in 2016. The state of Pennsylvania is a hot spot in this election. Trump supporters led a rally across the county in support of the former president. (Aimee Dilger/SOPA Images/Sipa USA)

Voters “deserve better, and we are calling on Milwaukee officials to do their job and count the votes quickly and efficiently,” Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley and Co-Chair Lara Trump said in a statement.

“Anything less undermines voters’ confidence.”

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