Failed Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein’s recount scampaign isn’t going quite as planned. The recount never made it off the ground in Pennsylvania and both federal and state courts agreed there was no need for a recount in Michigan as Stein did not qualify as an “aggrieved candidate”.
It’s day nine of the state-wide presidential ballot recount in Wisconsin and a federal judge refused to halt the recount, which is mostly complete, saying the recount results won’t affect the outcome.
Two pro-Trump super PACS filed suit seeking to stop the Wisconsin recount, claiming it was unconstitutional.
ABC News reports:
A federal judge refused to halt Wisconsin’s presidential recount Friday, telling President-elect Donald Trump’s supporters that the effort probably won’t change anything anyway.Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by more than 22,000 votes in the state. Wisconsin election officials reported Friday afternoon that nearly 89 percent of the ballots cast for president have been counted. Clinton had gained just 49 votes.”The relief you’re asking for is so clearly unwarranted,” U.S. District Judge James Peterson said during a 20-minute hearing Friday morning, when the results showed Clinton had gained 61 votes with 82 percent of ballots counted. “The recount looks like it’s going smoothly and competently. It’s not going to have any impact on whether the electoral college meets or who takes office.”Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, who finished a distant fourth in Wisconsin, requested the recount to determine if election machines were hacked. Two pro-Trump groups, the Great America PAC and the Stop Hillary PAC, filed a federal lawsuit Dec. 1 — the day the recount began — to stop the process.Peterson said Friday that the Wisconsin recount has so far revealed no irregularities….In Wisconsin, the PACs’ lawsuit contended the state was violating the U.S Supreme Court’s 2000 Bush v. Gore ruling because the state lacks uniform standards to determine which votes should be recounted.Peterson would have none of it. He said the Bush v. Gore case doesn’t apply in Wisconsin’s recount. He said final decisions are often appealed but that doesn’t mean they’re not final.”You’re just trying to clip Stein’s wings as to any future appeals when she hasn’t taken any action,” Peterson said. He said he would decide in a few days whether to dismiss the lawsuit completely.The PACs’ attorney, Michael Morley, said he would consult with his clients on whether to appeal.
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