Advertisement Jill Stein files for Michigan recount, attorney says 'aging' ballot technology could 'misread' votes Jill Stein filed for a recount in Michigan on Tuesday Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Jill Stein’s campaign held a press conference on Wednesday, one day after the Green Party candidate filed a request for a recount in Michigan. Nearly 4.8 million people voted in the Wolverine state’s 83 counties on Nov. 8. The recount will cost nearly $975,000. "I and the undersigned members of my slate of electors are aggrieved on account of fraud or mistake in the canvass of the votes by the inspectors of election, and/or the returns made by the inspectors and/or by the Board of County Canvassers and/or by the Board of State Canvassers," Stein’s request read. "I request that all of the precincts and absent voter counting board precincts within the state of Michigan be recounted by hand count." The recount could begin this Friday in Michigan’s largest 19 counties, followed by the remaining 64. Stein’s campaign hopes the task will be completed by Dec. 10. Lou Novak, a Detroit resident and member of the Green party of Michigan, opened the press conference on Wednesday. “I’m proud to play a role in making sure every single vote in Michigan is counted,” Novak said. “The recount is not about me, it’s not about other volunteers or city or county officials…it’s not even about the candidates for president. This recount is about the millions of ordinary Americans across the nation who are rising up to say ‘enough is enough.’” Jessica Clark, an attorney with law firm Emery, Celli, Brinkerhoff and Abady, discussed the reliability of the state’s voting machines. She also claimed the “aging” optical scan technology had a “tendency to misread markers made by voters.” “One hundred percent of voting in Michigan is done through optical scan ballots,” Clark said. “These machines, at their core, are computers. And computers are prone to problems and errors.” Alex Halderman, a professor of computer science at the University of Michigan, closed the press conference. “The types of machines used in Michigan have been hacked, I can point you to the studies where this has been demonstrated scientifically,” he said. Earlier this week, a recount showed that Trump won all of Michigan’s 16 electoral votes.