Recount requests filed by the Green Party's Jill Stein continue to gain momentum in key swing states as her campaign raises millions in a matter of days.
Stein said she plans to request a recount in Michigan over its 16 electoral votes as similar cases progress in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania . Donald Trump was the apparent winner in all three states, defeating Hillary Clinton by margins in the range of tens of thousands of votes.
While the effort has raised more than $6 million, Stein's campaign said in a statement the average donation was about $46.
The recounts would not change the election outcome for Stein, who finished fourth behind Libertarian Gary Johnson , but there is a very small chance they could flip the states for Clinton.
That
result remains highly unlikely, as the Democrat would need to overcome
Trump's winning margins in all three states to wrest the Electoral
College majority from him. Clinton currently leads Trump by more than 2
million in the popular vote, according to an ongoing count by the Cook Political Report.
Clinton's campaign has said it will participate in the recount in Wisconsin while Trump claims the process is a "scam."
In
a Monday statement, Stein's campaign said, "The recount funds are being
held in a dedicated account, separate from Stein's Presidential
campaign treasury, and will be used to pay for all costs associated with
the recounts, including required payments to states, lawyers, volunteer
recruitment and other technical assistance."
Below is the latest on the recounts:
On
Monday, the Wisconsin Elections Commission unanimously approved a
timeline and steps for a presidential election recount, following
petitions from Stein and Reform Party presidential nominee Roque "Rocky"
De La Fuente.
Trump was the apparent winner of the state's 10 electoral votes.
The
commission said a recount order is contingent on a full payment for the
process due Tuesday. If that payment is received, the recount in
Wisconsin would begin on Thursday. The commission said Monday that it
estimates the recount to cost $3.5 million, more than half of what
Stein's campaign has raised.
Stein
initially requested a statewide recount by hand, but the Wisconsin
Elections Commission said that the campaign would need a court order for
that to occur.
Legal
representation for the Stein campaign filed a lawsuit Monday on behalf
of 100 voters in Pennsylvania requesting a statewide recount. The case
says a "primary purpose of the recounts" is to "determine if computer
intrusions or hacking of electronic systems impacted the results" and
includes an affidavit from a computer science professor.
NBC
News reported that the deadline to request a precinct-by-precinct
recount has already passed, but the lawsuit filed today requests a
statewide recount.
The Keystone State's 20 electoral votes pushed Trump beyond the 270 needed to win the presidency.
The Republican Party of Pennsylvania responded, saying the petition is "totally and completely without any merit."
"It
does not even allege any facts to support its wild claim that the
'discontinuity' of pre-election polls reported by the media showing that
Hillary Clinton would win and the actual results could only have
occurred through computer hacking originated by a foreign government,"
Rob Gleason, chairman of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, said in a
statement. "This desperate act by Jill Stein and those supporting her
is a sad commentary on the failure of some to accept the results of the
will of the people as reflected by their votes."
On
Monday, the Michigan Board of State Canvassers certified that Trump won
the Great Lakes State and its 16 electoral votes, besting Clinton by
10,704 votes.
Monday's results brings Trump's total electoral vote count to 306 versus Clinton's 228, according to NBC News' ongoing tally.
Stein's campaign said in a statement it plans to demand a statewide hand-count of the results in Michigan on Wednesday.
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