Jason Stein

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A federal judge declined to stop Wisconsin's presidential recount Friday, clearing the way for the tally to finish here on Sunday or Monday and to meet a federal deadline.

In rejecting a plea from supporters of Republican President-elect Donald Trump, U.S. District Judge James Peterson in Madison said he saw no legal basis for stopping the recount and said it wouldn't affect Trump's status as the winner of Wisconsin and the White House.

"There's no question I have to deny the request for an injunction to stop the recount," Peterson said, adding that there is "virtually no chance" the recount will change the election outcome in Wisconsin.

Michael Morley, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said he would talk with them about whether to file an appeal.

With only 13% of the recount remaining, Wisconsin Elections Commission officials say Democrat Hillary Clinton has gained only about 60 votes so far on Trump, who won the Nov. 8 election in the state by more than 22,000 votes.

The commission's executive director Mike Haas praised the ruling afterward, saying it ensured that the recount will finish on time.

"We're really in the home stretch," Haas said.

The recount has been a "huge inconvenience" for election officials but also a "positive learning experience" that clerks will use to fine-tune the state's system, he said.

The campaign of Green Party candidate Jill Stein paid $3.5 million to ensure Wisconsin did a recount.

In Michigan, a separate presidential recount being sought by Stein there remains stalled. Trump won that state by 10,700 votes on Nov. 8.

The recount started in Michigan on Monday but was halted two days later when U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith in Detroit blocked the effort there, concluding there's no real evidence of foul play and there's no valid reason to continue the recount.

Meanwhile, two of Michigan's Supreme Court justices — Robert Young and Joan Larsen — have recused themselves from considering a separate recount case in state court there.

Stein asked that Young and Larsen recuse themselves from hearing an appeal of a Michigan Court of Appeals ruling that said that the state Board of Canvassers should never have approved the recount and that it should stop.

The two are included on a list of potential appointees to the U.S. Supreme Court that Trump revealed before the election. And while both said they were reluctant to recuse themselves from the case, they said they decided to do so to ensure that any decision the court might come to in the case couldn't be open to appeal because of their participation.

Without Larsen and Young, there still will be a 3-2 Republican majority ruling on the case.