Jill Stein Raises $5 Million for a Recount in Battleground States
According to Politico, since November 23rd, Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has raised over $5 million to fund a popular vote recount in key battleground states, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania—all states where Donald Trump narrowly beat Hillary Clinton.
Stein is intending to file for a recount this week before the Wisconsin deadline and aiming to meet the two other recount deadlines by next week. Stein began the effort after experts prodded the Clinton campaign to investigate these states, since, they claim, Clinton received 7% less of the vote in counties that relied on electronic ballots.
Stein initially sought $1.1 million for recount efforts in Wisconsin, $500,000 for Pennsylvania recounts, and $600,000 for Michigan. According to her recount website, Stein blew past her goal for all three states in just three days since she started the recount campaign.
It is uncertain whether a recount effort will actually change the outcome of the election, and Stein has admitted that there is no evidence of foul play. The Green Party often demands election recounts, but this effort is particularly gaining momentum, likely due to disappointed Clinton voters.
According to The Washington Post, even if the election were hacked, a recount would likely not prove it. Recounted electronic votes in Pennsylvania would simply be rescanned—although Michigan votes do have a paper record.
This election is said to have been influenced by Russian hackers, who leaked emails and information about the Clinton campaign in order to sabotage Clinton’s efforts. Even so, once again, there is no evidence that a recount would find lost Clinton votes, and if it did, there would likely not be enough that she would take back a state: a 2004 recount in Ohio only found 300 more votes for John Kerry, which made little difference in the final tally.