An effort to call a recount in in swing states

One of the great advantages of living far way is I don't have to be partisan - except  whe it comes to Killary Clinton

EXCLUSIVE: Jill Stein Tells Sputnik About Vote Recount Campaign

Sputnik,

24 November, 2016

Jill Stein, the Green Party's candidate in the 2016 US presidential race, has raised over $3.7 million in just over a day in an effort to force a vote recount in the key battleground states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Speaking to Sputnik, Dr. Stein offered details about the motivations behind her effort.

On Wednesday, the Stein campaign announced that it had begun raising funds for the three state recount in what it said was a "multi-partisan effort to check the accuracy of the machine-counted vote tallies in these states in order to ensure the integrity of our elections."

Stein cited a host of concerns brought to her by voters, computer scientists, and voting systems professionals as the reason for filing for the recount. Her announcement follows on recent reporting that the Clinton campaign was also considering filing similar hand-count recounts and forensic analyses of electronic voting in the same states.

Stein's online campaign has spread like wildfire, and has already raised well over the $2.2 million formally needed to file for a recount in the three key states ahead of deadlines on November 25, 28 and 30. Other costs associated with the recount, including attorney's fees and statewide recount observers are expected to run anywhere from $6-7 million. Accordingly, Stein's campaign is asking for at least $4.5 million, having already raised $3.7 million as of 2 pm EST. 

That figure officially surpasses the $3.509 million the Green Party candidate raised during her presidential run. Stein received 1.39 million votes, or just over 1% of the popular vote, in the election held earlier this month.

Speaking to Brad Friedman, host of Radio Sputnik's Bradcast, Stein offered details about what it was she was trying to accomplish with her initiative.

Simply put, she said that the recount effort is meant to assure voters that their votes were accounted for and counted accurately. "We have to move really fast in order to basically verify the vote and be confident our votes were actually counted, that they weren't flipped or stripped and that we have a system of elections we can believe in," the candidate explained. 

Stein said that her "interest as a citizen, as a person in America, that the vote be valid," is what's driving the effort from her end. "Why would anyone in their right mind not want to have secure and verified vote? In a very vicious, hotly contested election that used hack-friendly voting machines, in a hack-riddled election, we deserve some confidence in the outcome of this election," she said.

"I'm responding to a [group] of people…observers and advocates, both experts and just ordinary citizens, who feel like this is unacceptable and that these machines as a baseline is not the way we should be voting."

"Then there are allegations of voting irregularities that I cannot testify to myself – as I understand these are rather debatable grey zones at this point. But I think there is plenty of evidence to say that we deserve confidence in our voting system," she added.

Analysts Stein stressed that it's actually an "outrage we have to go to extraordinary lengths to verify the vote." 

"This is something we shouldn't have to ask a recount for. We shouldn't have to spend a million dollars in Wisconsin alone in order to be confident of our vote. The tragedy is that this is not built into our voting system – that 25% of Americans vote on these electronic machines that have no paper record whatsoever. This is really a mockery of democracy – one of many incredible vulnerabilities of our democracy and our elections." 

Ultimately, Stein suggested that "if ever there was a time to stand up and demand an accountable and secure vote, this is the time to do it. If we don't do it now, when exactly – what would be the cause to do it?"

Stein noted that "it feels really good to be standing up right now and to be surrounded by so many people who say that it's time for us to take control of our democracy, to use the resources that we have right now to stand up – to give ourselves a gift on this Thanksgiving and have something to be thankful for…"

The Green Party plans to hold a conference in Washington, DC in February devoted to the 2016 election, including the concepts and issues of verified voting, rank choice voting, the Electoral College and opening up the debates to more independent candidates. 

Election Fraud? Donald Trump’s win questioned, Jill Stein’s Green Party raises cash for ‘recount’

the Duran,

24 November, 2016

The Green Party in the United States is demanding a recount of votes in three key states that could potentially affect the outcome of the election that saw Donald Trump chosen as president.

The party was able to raise $2.5 million needed to at least pay for the recount in Wisconsin in less than 12 hours from the time the Greens’ intentions were reported by the media on Wednesday.

Jill Stein, leader of the party that received less than 1% of the national vote, said in a press release that the Greens wanted the recount “because reported hacks into voter and party databases and individual email accounts are causing many Americans to wonder if our election results are reliable.”

The Party wants recounts in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan–the three states that determined the result of the 2016 race. The deadline to file for a recount is Friday in Wisconsin, Monday in Pennsylvania and Wednesday in Michigan.

The cost of the Wisconsin recount is $1.1 million, according to the Green Party press release. The release does not say what the cost for all three recounts is, but the party initially sought $2.5 million. That was widely reported as the total amount needed. But once that goal was reached, the target was jacked up to $4.5million.

The party’s home page appeal for money says the entire cost with legal fees could be $6 million to $7 million. This statement also includes a quote from Stein that blames “foreign agents” for hacking into “party databases, private email servers, and voter databases in certain states.” Her quote in the press release removes the words “foreign agents.”

Slim Margins

Trump narrowly beat Democratic contender Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and is leading in Michigan, which more than two weeks later is still too close to call. Just a 55,000 vote swing is all that is needed in the three states to flip the election to Clinton.

On Tuesday it was reported that a group of U.S. professors–computer scientists and elections lawyers–had held a conference call with the Clinton campaign to ask it to file for an audit in the three states. They said that actual results differed from exit polls and that Trump had done considerably better in areas where electronic voting machines were used. Clinton excelled where paper ballots were used.

Some experts explained that electronic machines were used in rural areas, which were stronger for Trump, while paper ballots were used in urban areas largely backing Clinton.

The academics lobbying the Clinton campaign have suggested that a foreign government may be behind the hacks. The Obama administration had said before the election that Russia was trying to influence the election through hacking, though no evidence was made public.

In his final testimony to Congress last week, outgoing Director of National Intelligence James Clapper admitted that there was no proof about who was behind the supposed hacks.

The Clinton campaign has made no statement. But many Clinton supporters have backed the effort online. The Trump transition team has made no comment.

Just before the election I speculated here that if Clinton should lose a close election she would cry Russian interference and try to convince the electoral college to flip their votes to her.

Trump won the electoral college vote 290 to 232, with Michigan’s 16 electoral votes still outstanding. 270 votes are needed to win. Clinton won the national popular vote by about 2 million votes.

There is a campaign to get electors from states that voted for Trump to change their vote for Clinton. Twenty-four states do not legally bind electors to vote with the popular will of their states. The electors will vote in their state capitals on December 19. The Congress will certify the election on January 6.

The Green’s Motive

The move by the Greens raises many questions. At face value, they say that the integrity of the electoral system is the only thing at stake. But the Greens must know that the recount effort could only help Clinton and hurt Trump.

Is there some collusion between the Democratic Party and the Greens? Are they a Trojan horse for Clinton who can stay above the fray while getting the recount? Have wealthy Clinton donors been behind the flood of cash into the effort in so short a time? Or are the Greens sincere in wanting voting irregularities exposed?

One theory is that the recount will expose cheating by both the Republicans and Democrats, which is why the Clinton team has remained silent.

Why does one Stein quote mention “foreign agents” while another doesn’t, given that even Clapper has distanced himself from that charge and the Greens have never blamed a foreign power before?

We might never find out the Greens’ real motive. But real drama may soon re-enter the 2016 Election Campaign.

From the Sane Progressive

Paul Joseph Watson says "we won - get over it!"

Trump Wins Michigan by 10,704 Votes

Newsmax,

24 November, 2016

Republican President-elect Donald Trump defeated Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by 10,704 votes in the state of Michigan, according to certified unofficial county-by-county results released on Wednesday by the Michigan secretary of state.

Trump received 2,279,543 votes compared with Clinton's 2,268,839, according to figures posted on the secretary of state's website. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson received 172,136 votes and Green candidate Jill Stein won 51,463.

Nine other candidates shared a total of nearly 30,000 additional votes in the presidential campaign in Michigan, the figures showed. The results will remain unofficial until they are reviewed and approved by the Board of State Canvassers on Nov. 28.

Some media organizations did not call a winner of the presidential race in Michigan on election night because of the closeness of the race. Michigan is the last state where the winner was not yet clear.

The final unofficial tally gave Trump a slightly narrower victory than previous counts. A count as of Nov. 15 reported by CNN, for example, showed Trump winning 2,279,805 votes and Clinton winning 2,268,193, a margin of 11,612 votes.

If Trump is declared the winner in Michigan, he will have accumulated 306 electoral votes to Clinton's 232.

Clinton is leading in the popular vote by more than 2 million, according to the Cook Political Report.