LANSING (WKZO-AM) — Jill Stein has met the deadline and filed for a recount in Pennsylvania, and hired Mark Brewer, Michigan’s former Democratic Party Chair to represent the Green Party as they pursue a recount in Michigan.
Brewer says “there are ways to hack and manipulate the machines and they will detail those in our filing on Wednesday”.
The Board of Canvassers certified Trump’s win yesterday afternoon, giving Brewer until Wednesday afternoon to submit a request for a statewide recount in Michigan. At that time the state will be expecting a payment of about $800,000 to cover state fees.
They are already gearing up for the recount in Wisconsin.
The Clinton Campaign and Michigan Republicans are both talking about sending monitors to watch any recounts, which will take place at the local level in Michigan’s 83-counties.
State Elections Director Chris Thomas says they are facing a December 13th deadline before the Electoral College meets. He says that means they will have to begin counting as soon as the request is filed and may have to count 7-days a week to beat that deadline.
He says he has “concerns”.
He says it’s also required that a representative of his office also attend such recounts, but he doesn’t have that many people on his staff. It’s a work in progress.
Kalamazoo County Clerk Tim Snow says clerks all over Michigan have already been notified to begin looking for locations and volunteers to conduct a hand-count of all the ballots used in November’s election.
While there hasn’t been a statewide recount since 1968, Kalamazoo County conducted a countywide hand count when Sean McCann challenged the results in his State Senate race against Margaret O’Brien two years ago.
He says “ we are in good shape because of that experience.” Snow also conducted three smaller recounts of three township races just this summer. He says with a little prep he should be good to go.
In both the State count decades ago, and the County recount two years ago, the results did not change, but they did result in changes in two of the township races.