Michigan Attorney General Vows to Stop Recount; Donald Trump Contests It
The president-elect’s formal petition to disallow the recount calls Jill Stein's request "lawless" and "insulting."
Updated. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said Friday
that he will ask the Michigan Supreme Court to stop a statewide
hand count of the 4.8 million ballots cast in the 2016 presidential
election, according to reports.
The state's Board of Canvassers could render Schuette's action
moot at a hearing Friday morning on an objection filed Thursday
by the campaign of President-elect Donald J. Trump.
Attorneys for Trump argued that Green Party candidate
Jill Stein, who filed the recount request and received only
about 1 percent of the vote in Michigan, is not an "aggrieved"
party by fraud or mistake; there is not adequate time to complete
the recount by Dec. 13, "safe harbor" date to assure Michigan
electors can cast ballots when the Electoral College meets
Dec. 19; and that Stein's petition wasn't properly signed and sworn.
AG @SchuetteOnDuty seeks a Tuesday hearing before the Michigan Supreme Court to stop @DrJillStein'S statewide hand recount.
President-elect Donald J. Trump's campaign officially objected
Thursday to Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s request for a
laborious hand-recount of the state’s nearly 4.8 million ballots.
Trump was declared the winner of the state’s 16 electoral votes
by a margin of 10,704 votes on Monday.
The campaign said Michigan election officials should not grant
"this lawless, insulting request."
Further, the campaign said in the objection that "voters should
not risk having the Electoral College door knocked off its hinges
all because a 1 [percent] candidate is dissatisfied with the
election’s outcome. Given her tiny vote total, (Green Party
presidential candidate Jill) Stein does not and could not
possibly allege a good faith belief that she may have won
the state of Michigan."
Stein filed her recount request Wednesday, along with a
check for $973,250 to cover the costs to recount ballots in
Michigan’s 6,300 precincts. The Green Party candidate,
who received negligible support among Michigan voters,
has never said her outcome would change. Rather, she has
said she wants to ensure that all votes were counted.
Stein and her attorneys have acknowledged there is no evidence
of fraud or impropriety but raised questions about 85,000
ballots with “blank votes” in the presidential race — more than
enough to make up for the difference separating Trump and
Clinton.
Secretary of State Ruth Johnson said Wednesday the recount
will cost more than $5 million, most of it to be borne by
Michigan taxpayers. The state Republican party went further,
suggesting costs could soar to $12 million.
President-elect Donald Trump's Friday meeting has Democrats shaking in their boots, plus more from today's news.
The recount was expected to begin Friday, but Trump’s request
will delay it, The Detroit News reported. The state Board of
Canvassers could rule on the request by 9:30 a.m. Friday, but
even then the recount can't start for two business days.
Election officials in Oakland and Ingham counties had hoped
to start hand-counting the ballots on Friday, the Detroit Free
Press reported.
Now it appears unlikely that the recount — if it is allowed —
will be completed by Dec. 10.
Trump in the past has been critical of the recount request,
calling it “ridiculous” and “a scam.”
“This recount is just a way for Jill Stein, who received less
than 1 percent of the vote overall and wasn't even on the ballot
in many states, to fill her coffers with money, most of which
she will never even spend on this ridiculous recount," the
president-elect said in a statement.
Ronna Romney McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Michigan
Republican Party, has called the request by Stein a “temper
tantrum” that won't change the outcome of the vote.
Updated. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said Friday
that he will ask the Michigan Supreme Court to stop a statewide
hand count of the 4.8 million ballots cast in the 2016 presidential
election, according to reports.
The state's Board of Canvassers could render Schuette's action
moot at a hearing Friday morning on an objection filed Thursday
by the campaign of President-elect Donald J. Trump.
Attorneys for Trump argued that Green Party candidate
Jill Stein, who filed the recount request and received only
about 1 percent of the vote in Michigan, is not an "aggrieved"
party by fraud or mistake; there is not adequate time to complete
the recount by Dec. 13, "safe harbor" date to assure Michigan
electors can cast ballots when the Electoral College meets
Dec. 19; and that Stein's petition wasn't properly signed and sworn.
AG @SchuetteOnDuty seeks a Tuesday hearing before the Michigan Supreme Court to stop @DrJillStein'S statewide hand recount.
President-elect Donald J. Trump's campaign officially objected
Thursday to Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s request for a
laborious hand-recount of the state’s nearly 4.8 million ballots.
Trump was declared the winner of the state’s 16 electoral votes
by a margin of 10,704 votes on Monday.
The campaign said Michigan election officials should not grant
"this lawless, insulting request."
Further, the campaign said in the objection that "voters should
not risk having the Electoral College door knocked off its hinges
all because a 1 [percent] candidate is dissatisfied with the
election’s outcome. Given her tiny vote total, (Green Party
presidential candidate Jill) Stein does not and could not
possibly allege a good faith belief that she may have won
the state of Michigan."
Stein filed her recount request Wednesday, along with a
check for $973,250 to cover the costs to recount ballots in
Michigan’s 6,300 precincts. The Green Party candidate,
who received negligible support among Michigan voters,
has never said her outcome would change. Rather, she has
said she wants to ensure that all votes were counted.
Stein and her attorneys have acknowledged there is no evidence
of fraud or impropriety but raised questions about 85,000
ballots with “blank votes” in the presidential race — more than
enough to make up for the difference separating Trump and
Clinton.
Secretary of State Ruth Johnson said Wednesday the recount
will cost more than $5 million, most of it to be borne by
Michigan taxpayers. The state Republican party went further,
suggesting costs could soar to $12 million.
President-elect Donald Trump's Friday meeting has Democrats shaking in their boots, plus more from today's news.
The recount was expected to begin Friday, but Trump’s request
will delay it, The Detroit News reported. The state Board of
Canvassers could rule on the request by 9:30 a.m. Friday, but
even then the recount can't start for two business days.
Election officials in Oakland and Ingham counties had hoped
to start hand-counting the ballots on Friday, the Detroit Free
Press reported.
Now it appears unlikely that the recount — if it is allowed —
will be completed by Dec. 10.
Trump in the past has been critical of the recount request,
calling it “ridiculous” and “a scam.”
“This recount is just a way for Jill Stein, who received less
than 1 percent of the vote overall and wasn't even on the ballot
in many states, to fill her coffers with money, most of which
she will never even spend on this ridiculous recount," the
president-elect said in a statement.
Ronna Romney McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Michigan
Republican Party, has called the request by Stein a “temper
tantrum” that won't change the outcome of the vote.
More Patch Coverage on Recounts
- Swing-State Hacking Fears Fuel Talk of Recounts
- It's Official: Donald Trump Wins Michigan; President-Elect Could Fight Recount
- Jill Stein Plans Court Action to Force Hand Recount of Wisconsin Ballots
- Pennsylvania Recount Petition Filed; Election Called ‘Illegal’
- Hillary Clinton Campaign Will Participate in Wisconsin Recount
- Wisconsin Recount: Jill Stein Raises $3.5M to Cover Costs
- Jill Stein Won't Appeal After Judge Rejects Hand-Count of Wisconsin Votes
- Jill Stein Officially Asks for Michigan Presidential Vote Recount
The recount requests came after a prominent group of election
attorneys and computer scientists, including University
of Michigan computer science professor J. Alex Halderman,
claimed to have uncovered “persuasive evidence” that the
Stein has also made requests for recounts in Wisconsin and
Pennsylvania. Stein lost a bid for a hand-recount in Wisconsin,
but a majority of the counties plan to pursue that option, their
right under Wisconsin law. In Pennsylvania, at least six counties
have received recount petitions, but the situation in the Keystone
State is more complicated than in Michigan and Wisconsin.
Photo by Gage Skidmore via Flickr Commons
- Swing-State Hacking Fears Fuel Talk of Recounts
- It's Official: Donald Trump Wins Michigan; President-Elect Could Fight Recount
- Jill Stein Plans Court Action to Force Hand Recount of Wisconsin Ballots
- Pennsylvania Recount Petition Filed; Election Called ‘Illegal’
- Hillary Clinton Campaign Will Participate in Wisconsin Recount
- Wisconsin Recount: Jill Stein Raises $3.5M to Cover Costs
- Jill Stein Won't Appeal After Judge Rejects Hand-Count of Wisconsin Votes
- Jill Stein Officially Asks for Michigan Presidential Vote Recount
The recount requests came after a prominent group of election
attorneys and computer scientists, including University
of Michigan computer science professor J. Alex Halderman,
claimed to have uncovered “persuasive evidence” that the
Stein has also made requests for recounts in Wisconsin and
Pennsylvania. Stein lost a bid for a hand-recount in Wisconsin,
but a majority of the counties plan to pursue that option, their
right under Wisconsin law. In Pennsylvania, at least six counties
have received recount petitions, but the situation in the Keystone
State is more complicated than in Michigan and Wisconsin.
Photo by Gage Skidmore via Flickr Commons
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