Late Friday afternoon, one-time presidential candidate and aspiring rock star Jill Stein successfully submitted a petition to establish a general election recount in Wisconsin. Her petition arrives as Hillary Clinton’s lead in the popular vote surpasses the 2 million mark. Soon after Stein’s filing, Wisconsin agreed to hold the recount.
Wisconsin was one of the key battleground states that Donald Trump secured during his surprising presidential win. Stein is also looking to file recount petitions in Michigan and Pennsylvania, whose election outcomes were wildly different than what polls had been predicted. Michigan, in particular, is an interesting case as the outcome is still too close to call (Michigan and Pennsylvania’s recount deadlines are next week). Stein said she chose to pursue a recount after evidence surfaced that there may have been some funny business going on at the polls:
“After a divisive and painful presidential race, reported hacks into voter and party databases and individual email accounts are causing many American to wonder if our election results are reliable. These concerns need to be investigated before the 2016 presidential election is certified. We deserve elections we can trust.”
Stein’s fundraising efforts have also exceeded expectations, as her donation website has surpassed the $5.2 million mark. The initial goal was $2.5 million, but now that Stein could see people were willing to pony up some cash, she raised it to $7 million for her Michigan and Pennsylvania efforts. While her recent efforts to get a recount underway may instill some hope in some dejected Clinton supporters, she said the recount may not actually happen in all three states, but these are the first steps.