Wisconsin Recount Confirms Trump Victory, Increases His Margin over Clinton
On Monday, Wisconsin’s vote recount ended any controversy surrounding President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the traditionally blue state.
The Associated Press reported that Trump’s margin of victory actually increased in the recount, whose results were certified Monday.
The Republican nominee picked up an additional 162 votes in the state, according to the report. Trump earned approximately 22,000 more votes than Democrat opponent Hillary Clinton.
Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein has been the driving force behind recount efforts, challenging vote totals in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. She has alleged that voting machines in those states are susceptible to fraud, with no evidence save for those states usually voting Democrat.
Stein raised enough money to initiate the recount in Wisconsin, though courts denied her efforts in Pennsylvania and Michigan.
In Pennsylvania, U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond said he rejected the Green Party’s lawsuit on numerous grounds. The state’s attorney general also opposed the effort.
Suspicion of a hacked Pennsylvania election “borders on the irrational,” Diamond wrote in his review of the case, while granting the Green Party’s recount bid could “ensure that no Pennsylvania vote counts” given Tuesday’s federal deadline to certify the vote for the Electoral College.
“Most importantly, there is no credible evidence that any ‘hack’ occurred, and compelling evidence that Pennsylvania’s voting system was not in any way compromised,” Diamond wrote.
He also pointed to the lawsuit’s lack of legitimate standing, calling the four-week delay in its filing “unexplained” and “highly prejudicial.”
Thus far, Wisconsin’s recount uncovered no widespread voter fraud or hacking. Stein has, however, raised almost $10 million, which is more than she was able to raise throughout her campaign.
Critics also have wondered where that money will go if not toward recount efforts. Some have even said the recount effort is equivalent to “burning money.”
Stein’s campaign doesn’t anticipate any leftover funds, though its website indicates that any extra funds will go toward “election integrity efforts.”
Usually, Federal Election Commission guidelines require campaigns to ask donors if they’re willing to have their donations transferred to another fund. Stein’s campaign may not have to do so since it initially specified that leftover funds will go toward those efforts.
Other critics said Stein’s calls for a recount were the result of a nudge from the Clinton campaign, but Stein’s website says Stein is not seeking the recounts to help Clinton. Rather, the site says, “These recounts are part of an election integrity movement to attempt to shine a light on just how untrustworthy the U.S. election system is.”
Her recounts, like the 27 that have preceded them since 2000, have thus far shown the opposite, as the final results changed just 0.06 percent. (For more from the author of “Wisconsin Recount Confirms Trump Victory, Increases His Margin over Clinton” please click HERE)
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