Republican Donald Trump is officially the winner of the presidential race in Michigan. A state elections board certified the results today, but now a recount looms.
The campaign of Green Party candidate Jill Stein intends to file a request for a recount. Stein campaign attorney Mark Brewer says there’s no proof, but there are reasons to wonder if the state’s electronic ballot counting system is flawed and susceptible to hacking. He says the answer is a hand recount of four-point-eight million ballots.
“In the end, this is all about people trusting the system, and a manual recount is the only way to assure people that they can trust the system,” Brewer said.
Republicans say the recount is a waste of time and money, and could challenge the effort.
Michigan Republican chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel says a recount would be a waste of time and money. She says the $800,000 fee will not entirely cover the cost of a recount to local clerks’ offices.
“This will cost our taxpayers. It will cost our counties. It will take time. It is disenfranchising our voters, and it is an outrage.”
The state’s elections director says recounts could begin early next week, and wrap up by December 10. There could also be a court challenge to a recount.
