Is it finally “over over” in Jill Stein’s impossible dream to recount votes in Michigan?Here’s hoping so. After the Michigan mid-level appellate court ruled against her, and a federal judge dissolved an injunction that had kept the recount alive, Stein’s only hope was that the state Supreme Court would rule in her favor.But first, the state Supreme Court had to agree to hear the case. And it just declined to do so.The Detroit News reports:
The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday denied Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s appeal to restart a partially completed presidential election recount, meaning President-elect Donald Trump’s 10,704-vote victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton stands.In a 3-2 ruling, the state’s highest court said the Michigan Court of Appeals correctly ruled that Stein was ineligible to pursue a recount.Republican-nominated justices Stephen Markman, Brian Zahra and David Viviano denied the appeal. Zahra and Viviano wrote a concurring opinion that further explained why the Court of Appeals was correct to rule that Stein is not an “aggrieved” candidate who could request an appeal. She finished a distant fourth behind Trump and Clinton.“Thus, petitioner failed to allege that she has been harmed or that her legal rights have been infringed in any way whatsoever,” Zahra and Viviano wrote in the majority opinion.Chief Justice Robert Young Jr. and Justice Joan Larsen, two Republican-nominated justices, disqualified themselves from the decision because Trump named them to his short list of possible nominees for the U.S. Supreme Court during the campaign.
Unfair to Stein, right? Ed Morrissey notes the recount wasn’t helping Hillary much, anyway:
The recount in Michigan wasn’t doing Stein or Hillary much good, as it turns out. The tally from the Secretary of State when the recount was suspended shows a shift of only 102 votes to Hillary after recounting roughly 40% of all precincts in the state. That barely dented Trump’s lead of 10,704 votes from Election Night. When Wisconsin wraps up their recount this weekend, it should be all over.
But there’s always Pennsylvania. Right? Ed Morrissey thinks not:
It’s not looking any better in the Keystone State for Jill Stein, either. When Stein couldn’t put up the money for a statewide hand recount in Pennsylvania, she took the state to federal court to force the state to conduct one anyway. On Monday, US district court Judge Paul Diamond promptly put off a hearing for four days, scheduling it for earlier today. After Stein’s attorneys finally made their case for federal intervention in a state process, Diamond decided to think it over for a while longer … and issue his ruling within hours of the safe-harbor deadline of December 13th.Philly.com reporter Jeremy Roebuck reported on the coincidence:
A federal judge in Philadelphia will rule Monday on the Green Party-backed petition for a Pennsylvania recount, leaving just one day before the state needs to certify its presidential vote total for the electoral college.Judge Paul Diamond signaled his plan after a Friday afternoon hearing in which supporters of Green Party nominee Jill Stein pushed their bid for a recount, citing concerns about the integrity of Pennsylvania’s voting system and the technology it uses.
Pity all those Democrats who donated money for the recount. Who’s guessing they are the same people who have flocked to purchase subscriptions to the NY Times post-election?
I am.
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