A federal judge ruled late Wednesday night that the Michigan recount should immediately be halted. The judge noted that the recount was a waste of taxpayer money as there was no proof of fraud or mistakes presented by Jill Stein or the Green Party. US District Judge Mark Goldsmith noted that a “recount as an audit” of an election with no proof of fraud has never been endorsed by any court and that Michigan will be no exception. However, Recount 2016 leader Jill Stein says the ruling was “disheartening.”

CNN reports that a federal judge squashed all hopes of a Clinton presidency once and for all on Wednesday evening. Judge Mark Goldsmith ruled to uphold longstanding recount laws by denying Jill Stein a recount as a form of election audit. While Jill Stein is a Green Party advocate and leader, many Hillary Clinton supporters jumped on the Recount 2016 train on the hopes that Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania election results could be overturned, resulting in a Clinton presidency.

People count ballots in Waterford Township, Michigan before a federal judge has ruled that the Michigan recount must be halted. (Image by Paul Sancya/ AP Images)

However, those dreams were crushed when the judge upheld the ruling that recounts should not be used to audit elections but rather are only used when state recount margins are met or when there is proof of voter fraud. Without proof that fraud took place, Judge Goldsmith said the courts could not uphold the recount and ordered all recount efforts to be halted.

“A recount as an audit of the election has never been endorsed by any court.”

During the Bush vs. Gore election, when the hanging chad became household talk, Florida courts adopted a highly unusual exception to the audit rule, something Michigan was not prepared to do given that they do not use punch systems and the election had already been audited and deemed too large of a margin for a mandatory recount. This ruling has not stopped Jill Stein from criticizing the election results.

Jill Stein speaks to the press outside of Trump Tower in New York City. (Image by Dennis Van Tine/AP Images)

According to USA Today, a Stein campaign spokesman David Cobb has called the ruling a “national disgrace.”

“What we’re seeing is a national disgrace. We see that in Detroit, half of the votes were ineligible to recount because of antiquated state laws. Just as we were gearing up to discover something wrong going on, the court stopped us.”

Cobb notes that no voter fraud was uncovered in the recount process but says they campaign was “gearing up to discover something.” Stein herself took to Twitter to express her disappointment with the halting of the recount noting that while federal courts have stopped the process, the issue is still open in the “court of public opinion.”

Shutting down Michigan’s recount is disgraceful. We deserve an election system we can trust, that is fair, secure, and just! #Recount2016 — Dr. Jill Stein (@DrJillStein) December 8, 2016

It’s disheartening a judge gave in to Donald Trump and Michigan Republicans, and lifted his emergency order that had kicked off #RecountMI. — Dr. Jill Stein (@DrJillStein) December 8, 2016

Though Stein says her recount efforts were not an attempt to get Clinton elected, many Hillary Clinton supporters were hoping to piggy back off the efforts in a bid to see their candidate make her way to the White House. With Michigan’s ruling now made, there is no viable path for Clinton to secure the presidency. Even if Pennsylvania and Wisconsin both flipped to Clinton, she would still not have the 270 needed to secure the election.

Similarly, ABC News has noted that things do not appear to be changing in Wisconsin, where the recount is over 70 percent complete. Clinton has picked up just 82 votes in a state that Trump won by more than 22,000.

What do you think about the judge’s ruling that Michigan will not continue with the recount?

[Featured Image by Paul Sancya/AP Images]