Attorneys on behalf of Jill Stein electronically filed a recount petition to request a recount of the 2016 presidential election vote in Wisconsin, as part of a bid to demand recounts in the three states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
The filing fee for the recount request in Wisconsin is estimated to be approximately $1.1 million. After opening a fundraising drive on Wednesday, the campaign raised the needed funds for Wisconsin within a matter of hours. So far, over $5 million has been raised from over 110,000 donors with an average of $45 each. Total costs are expected to be approximately $7 million dollars.
“We are standing up for an election system that we can trust; for voting systems that respect and encourage our vote, and make it possible for all of us to exercise our constitutional right to vote,” said Jill Stein, former Green Party presidential candidate. “We demand voting systems that are accurate, secure and accountable to the people. This is part of a larger commitment to election reform that our campaign and the Green Party has long stood for, which includes open debates, an end to voter ID laws and voter suppression, and ranked choice voting,” Stein added.
“The recount was not filed in order to change the election outcome, which is unlikely, nor to favor any one candidate. We are pursuing this recount to verify the integrity of the election result,” said David Cobb, Stein/Baraka campaign manager. As the Green Party presidential candidate in 2004, Cobb led a recount effort in Ohio which led to election reforms in other states, including the banning of DRE touchscreen voting machines in California and a revamped voting system in New Mexico. The recount also helped to launch a nationwide movement for election integrity.
The three states were recommended for scrutiny by election integrity experts and advocates because of the vulnerability of their voting systems and various indicators of concern – including unexplained high numbers of undervotes, the close results between the two candidates, and observed discrepancies between pre-election polling and the official result. Without meaningful machine audit procedures, a paper recount is the only sure way to verify an election result.
The recount petition will be transmitted to the county canvassing boards in Wisconsin along with a formal request for an estimate of recount costs and a decision on recount methodology. The recount could begin by the second half of next week.
The Stein/Baraka campaign is looking for volunteers to observe the recount in every county. To volunteer, interested individuals can contact the campaign at http://jill2016.com/RecountWI
