Hillary is now leading Trump in the popular vote by more than 2.5 million. And, with the exception of Obama, she has received more votes than any presidential candidate ever. The recount is a long-shot but, based on the vote difference alone, a recount is definitely warranted. So let’s check in on the progress of the efforts in MI, WI, and PA.

Stein is calling for recounts in three crucial states that Hillary barely lost…. Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania…. because of voting irregularities and the real possibility of a cyber-hack into the electronic voting machines.

Hillary is now leading Trump in the popular vote by more than 2.5 million. And, with the exception of Obama, she has received more votes than any presidential candidate ever. The recount is a long-shot but, based on the vote difference alone, Hillary’s campaign has decided to join in the effort.

On Friday Politico reported,

“A team of Trump attorneys filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvania late Thursday requesting a dismissal of Green Party nominee Jill Stein’s recount effort, arguing that she lacks a valid claim and merely “alleges speculative illegality.” On Friday morning, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette filed a lawsuit to stop the recount there, a move that came hours after Trump attorneys had filed a complaint to block the proceedings. And soon after, a pro-Trump super PAC filed suit in Wisconsin, insisting Stein’s recount push could “unjustifiably cast doubt upon the legitimacy of President-Elect Donald J. Trump’s victory.””

Michigan

The attempt to stop the recount in Michigan failed on Friday after the state election board deadlocked, with two Republicans voting against the recount and two Democrats voting in favor. A state spokesman said that the recount would begin next Tuesday or Wednesday.

Pennsylvania

On the recount in Pennsylvania, CNBC is reporting,

“An updated count Friday by state election officials shows Trump’s lead over Democrat Hillary Clinton has shrunk to 49,000, from 71,000. That puts Trump’s lead at 0.8 percent, down from over 1 percent, out of 6 million votes cast. Trump and the Pennsylvania Republican Party have asked a court to dismiss the Green Party-backed request for a recount of the state’s presidential election vote. In a filing late Thursday, Republican lawyers accused Stein of legal antics that threaten Pennsylvania’s ability to certify its presidential electors by the Dec. 13 federal deadline. A Monday court hearing is scheduled in the case.”

See Pennsylvania UPDATE below.

Wisconsin

In Wisconsin the recount began Thursday. Pro-Trump groups filed a lawsuit on Thursday to halt the count.

CNBC says,

“The lawsuit was filed by the Great America PAC, the Stop Hillary PAC and Wisconsin voter Ronald R. Johnson. The lawsuit contends that the recount that started Thursday threatens the due process rights of Johnson and others who voted for Trump. Trump won Wisconsin and the recount was requested by Stein.”

But a federal court on Friday struck down the attempts of the pro-Trump groups to stop the state recount. U.S. District Judge James Peterson said that there was no harm in going ahead and doing the recount.

So the Wisconsin recount will continue. Judge Peterson has set a hearing date for Dec. 9 on the underlying lawsuit.

UPDATE:

Jill Stein and the Green Party have dropped their bid for a statewide recount in Pennsylvania. Saturday night Stein’s lawyer, Lawrence M. Otter, withdrew the lawsuit they had filed with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Court.

NPR reports,

“In Pennsylvania, though, Stein’s withdrawal brings an abrupt conclusion to a statewide effort that began there less than one week ago. “Recounts will still proceed in a handful of Pennsylvania precincts, but it is far from the statewide recount that Ms. Stein was hoping for,” The Wall Street Journal reports. At this time, there is no indication that Stein’s campaign plans to drop its efforts in Wisconsin — where The Associated Press reports a recount is already underway — or in Michigan.”

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