Kathleen Gray

Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau

The campaign of Green Party candidate Jill Stein made good on its promise Wednesday, filing a request for a recount of nearly 4.8 million ballots cast for president in Michigan.

Mark Brewer, the Michigan-based attorney representing Stein, arrived at the Board of Elections office in Lansing with several other attorneys representing the campaign. He brought along a check for $973,250, which represents the $125 per precinct Stein must pay for the recount.

"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 said in her request. "I request that all of the precincts and absent voter counting board precincts within the state of Michigan be recounted by hand count."

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A recount could begin as soon as Friday in the state's largest 19 counties, followed by the smaller counties, with a goal of finishing the statewide recount by Dec. 10.

Lou Novak, a member of the Green Party and Detroit resident, said during a news conference after the recount request was filed: "This recount is about millions of ordinary Americans across the nation who are raising up to say enough is enough. ... Today is a turning point to fix our democracy."

J. Alex Halderman, a cybersecurity expert and computer science professor at the University of Michigan, said researchers have shown that Michigan's optical scan machines can be hacked, although he said there is no evidence that they have been hacked in previous elections.

"America's voting technology unfortunately suffers from severe cyber security vulnerabilities," he said. "We have one surefire defense against cyber attack and that's voting machines in which voters can fill out a paper ballot. But the paper doesn't do any good unless someone looks at it."

John Pirich, a Lansing-based attorney with Honigman Miller and one of the attorneys hired by the Trump campaign, also was on hand for the filing, but said he still has to review the recount request before determining what, if any, action will be taken. The State Board of Canvassers has scheduled a 9:30 a.m. meeting Friday to deal with any challenges to the recount, if any are filed.

► Related: How presidential recount, objections could unfold in Michigan

► Related: Board of Canvassers certifies Trump victory in Michigan

The board certified the Nov. 8 election results on Monday, showing that Republican Donald Trump won the state with a total of 2,279,543 votes, which was 10,704 more than Democrat Hillary Clinton received. Stein finished fourth in the presidential race with 51,463 votes.

Brewer has acknowledged that he doesn't expect a recount — which Secretary of State Ruth Johnson has estimated could cost as much as $2 million, less the $973,250 coming from Stein, and the rest paid by the state's 83 counties — to change the outcome of the election. But the purpose is to investigate whether there is any evidence of mistakes or fraud happening during the counting of the ballots.

Johnson said it is unusual for a candidate who received only 1.07% of the presidential vote in Michigan to request a recount, "especially when there is no evidence of hacking or fraud, or even a credible allegation of any tampering."

“Nevertheless, county clerks have been gearing up to complete this recount under a very challenging deadline. They’ll be working nights and weekends. I know they will do a great job because we have some of the best clerks in the country here in Michigan.”

Even though the outcome is unlikely to change, Johnson said the state and county clerks are gearing up for an unprecedented statewide recount.

Stein has said she has no evidence of fraud going into a recount of ballots in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan, but wants to ensure the integrity of the election. She has raised $6.7 million to pay for the recounts in the three states.

Ronna Romney McDaniel, chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party, said the recount is a waste of taxpayer dollars.

“The filing by Jill Stein is a reckless attempt to undermine the will of Michigan voters. Jill Stein made her 1% temper tantrum official and will waste millions of Michigan taxpayers’ dollars, and has acknowledged that the recount will not change anything regarding the Presidential election,” she said.

Contact Kathleen Gray: 313-223-4430, kgray99@freepress.com or on Twitter @michpoligal.

Petition for Recount in 2016 Presidential Election: Nov 30, 2016