Jill Stein continues her quest for recounts in key swing states. Developments are coming fast and furious since there’s not much time left before Donald Trump takes the White House, and of course, there’s no guarantee that recounts will change anything. The last big updates on this story involved Wisconsin agreeing to a recount, just as Trump derided Stein’s efforts as “a scam” while her donations surpassed the $6 million mark.
Stein shall not be deterred by Trump commentary. On Monday, she forged forward and filed for a recount in Pennsylvania. Her stated reason, again, is to examine the states where Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by around one percentage point. Stein stated the importance of building trust in the voting process and her hope that “Americans of all parties can be sure we have a fair, secure and accurate voting system.” At this time, Pennsylvania has not issued a formal declaration in response to Stein’s filing.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin has committed to a “speedy” process but declined to tally by hand. In response, Stein has vowed to sue to force a recount by hand:
The Wisconsin Elections Commission set a timetable Monday for a recount of the presidential election but rejected a request to conduct it by hand made by Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who quickly responded that she would sue.
Unless Stein wins her lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court, officials in each of Wisconsin’s 72 counties would decide on their own whether to do their recounts by hand. That could mean some counties perform recounts by machine and some by hand.
Stein also hopes to file for a recount in Michigan, which (on Monday) has finally declared Trump the winner of the state’s 16 electoral votes. Until today, the state was considered too close to call. In all likelihood, Michigan will soon receive a formal petition from Stein.
(Via CNN, Penn Live & Journal Sentinel)