Donald Trump

Attorneys representing President-elect Donald Trump have filed an objection to Green Party candidate Jill Stein's statewide ballot recount request in Michigan.

(Evan Vucci / AP)

Attorneys for President-elect Donald Trump have filed an objection to Green Party candidate Jill Stein's presidential ballot recount request, according to the Secretary of State's office.

Candidates on the ticket have seven days after a recount request is filed to file an objection. Trump's team has argued against counting the ballots by hand in a recount, instead advocating to use voting machines. The Stein campaign has argued the only way to ensure voter integrity is to recount the ballots by hand.

A copy of the objection is available online.

The objection claims the recount should be stopped for three main reasons: Stein is not entitled to a recount because she is the fourth-place finisher and therefore not "aggrieved" by any alleged fraud or mistake; the recount cannot be completed before the Electoral college votes are counted; and the petition is not properly signed and sworn to by the candidate.

"There is no reason to rewrite Michigan election law to accommodate the conspiracy-minded requests of an acknowledged loser," the petition reads.

A Board of State Canvassers meeting has been scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Friday to consider objections to the recount petition and will be held at the Lansing Center, 333 E. Michigan Ave. The board is also scheduled to meet 12 p.m. Saturday at Room 426 in the State Capitol building.

If the board rules in favor of the recount, the recount can continue after the second business day following the decision. If the board adopts the objection, the recount ends, according to the Secretary of State's office.

Now that an appeal is in the works, the recount plan put in place by the Secretary of State's office earlier this week will be put on hold.

Under state law, Stein is required to pay $125 per precinct for the cost of recounting the election. The initial estimate for the total fee statewide was just under $790,000, but the inclusion of absentee voter counting boards across the state brought the total up to $973,250, state officials confirmed.

In a statement, Stein expressed confidence the recount will move forward and criticized the Trump campaigns attempt to delay it as "shameful and outrageous," calling it a burden to taxpayers.

The Stein campaign, which Republicans have criticized for wasting taxpayer dollars by calling for the recount in the first place, said Thursday it is working with the Board of State Canvassers to determine the estimated total cost and discuss ways it could contribute to expenses above and beyond the required filing fee.

"The true costs of this recount are the result of elected leaders who have refused to invest in a 21st Century voting system and powerful politicians who are putting up obstacles in an effort to prolong, undermine and stop this recount," Stein said.

Initially, the recount was set to begin at two locations Friday, Dec. 2 -- Ingham and Oakland counties -- but Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum said in a statement the start date would be delayed.

Byrum said she expects Ingham County to remain one of the first two counties in Michigan to conduct the recount and is planning for the process to begin either on Dec. 6 or Dec. 7.

During its Monday meeting, Michigan's Board of State Canvassers voted unanimously to certify updated election results submitted by county canvassers last week, which showed Trump beating Democrat Hillary Clinton in Michigan by 10,704 votes. Stein herself earned 51,463 votes, or 1.07 percent of the overall vote.

Secretary of State Ruth Johnson said Wednesday a statewide recount effort could cost $4 million, although Michigan Republican Party officials have said the process could cost far more.