Posted on 11/25/2016 4:32:23 PM PST by SeekAndFind
The Wisconsin Elections Commission announced Friday that it would hold a statewide recount of the presidential vote. The move was in response to petitions from two candidates, the Green Party's Jill Stein and independent Rocky Roque De La Fuente.
Federal law requires that all recounts be finished 35 days after the election, which is Dec. 13. One or both of the candidates will be required to pay for the recount.
"We have assembled an internal team to direct the recount, we have been in close consultation with our county clerk partners, and have arranged for legal representation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice," said Wisconsin Elections Commission Director Mike Haas in a statement.
"We plan to hold a teleconference meeting for county clerks next week and anticipate the recount will begin late in the week after the Stein campaign has paid the recount fee, which we are still calculating."
Haas added that the process is very detail-oriented and he is concerned that some counties will be challenged to finish on time. In a recount, ballots must be examined to determine voter intent before being counted.
Stein has been leading the effort to force general election recounts in certain swing states. Her effort continues to gain steam and money.
On Wednesday she announced she would demand recounts in three states: Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. President-elect Donald Trump narrowly won Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and Michigan is still too close to call.
To cover the cost of the recounts, Stein launched a fundraising campaign, which has raised more than $5 million in less than three days.
Stein's fundraiser website explicitly says the campaign is not an effort to help Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, but to "ensure the integrity of our elections." Clinton has not commented on the efforts.
The deadline to file for a recount in Pennsylvania is Monday and Michigan's is Wednesday.
Before the announcement was made, Haas called a potential recount "uncharted territory," according to Laurel White with Wisconsin Public Radio. White reported:
"State law allows any candidate on the ballot to request a recount, but if the margin is more than 0.25 percent, the candidate must pay for its cost. "Haas said the recount would cost at least $500,000. "The commission is reviewing state law to determine when that money would be due.
" 'There's a little bit of ambiguity in the statutes,' Haas said. 'In one place, it states that the fee must be paid at the time the petition is filed; another statute indicates once the petition is filed, that's when our agency calculates an estimate.'
"Once a recount order is issued by the commission, clerks across the state have 13 days to complete it, Haas said."
Stein initially set a fundraising goal of $2.5 million. As donations started pouring in, that goal jumped to $4.5 million, as New York Magazine's Yashar Ali pointed out on Twitter.
By Friday, the goal had jumped again, to $7 million. The campaign says that will go to cover filing fees, attorney fees and other associated costs.
Donations are still rolling in, but as Stein's fundraising website states, money doesn't necessarily mean the recounts are assured: "We cannot guarantee a recount will happen in any of these states we are targeting. We can only pledge we will demand recounts in those states."
If the recounts don't happen, what will become of all that money? Stein's website says any "surplus will also go toward election integrity efforts and to promote voting system reform." It did not specify what those efforts would be.
As NPR's Camila Domonoske told the Newscast unit, "Some security and election experts have publicly called for paper ballots to be checked in Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan, to make sure that the computers that counted those ballots weren't hacked." But, she says, "There's no evidence that the electronic machines were hacked or the election was compromised."
bookmark
Wisconsin law gives her standing as a candidate. Trump needs to insure that any “found” boxes of ballots are invalidated.
They are requesting a manual recount. In most large precincts, they use machines to count quickly on election night.
“Rocky Roque De La Fuente...... What the hell is that..!!”
A new Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor, and...as Rush would say...with a little Spanish lingo thrown in...
Why is George Soros still alive?
Oath Keepers don’t understand their Oath?
I have some to believe that this is exactly the name of the game. Stall the actual electoral votes. Another post here from Milwaukee - first line says they may not be able to do it in time.
So then what? What happens if the electoral votes are not in on time?
come to believe.
That assumes that every Jill Stein voter would’ve automatically voted for Hillary. More likely, half of Stein’s dope-smoking voters would’ve stayed home on the lazy couch. Meaning Hildabeast still losing.
If votes can’t be certified by Dec 13th, Federal deadline, then the electoral votes are voided. If all 46 are voided, then no one gets to 270.
Then it goes to House of Reps for voting. Each state delegation gets 1 vote.
If we have any Rino’s that hate Trump and love Clinton, well, election could turn.
This last happened in 1824 when House picked Adams over Jackson even though Jackson won popular vote.
Voided Electoral Votes are subtracted from the overall total, and 50% plus one of the smaller total is is all that is needed.
In a recount, they first look at vote by intent. If a voter votes straight Democrat on the ballot, but then votes Republican for President, then they can question perhaps the voter meant to vote Dem as President and it was a mistake.
That is what will take longer to count.
Gov Gregoire.
Votes kept appearing, all from an address that turned out to be a homeless shelter.
Then there was Al Franken’s landslide, they kept counting until the following MAY!
Each state has their own rules for recounts. In WI and MI any person on ballot/ or voter can request a recount as long as they have the funds to pay for it.
Just like the Bush team was aware that Dan Rather was forging documents. Pfft
Wisconsin has only 10 electoral votes, right?
Closer than most. Never ever forget that wa are dealing with klintoons.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.