Jill Stein Drops Pennsylvania Recount Effort, Ending Unlikely Push Against Trump
Pennsylvania will apparently not have a statewide recount of its votes, removing the last long-shot hope by opponents of Donald J. Trump that a review of the ballots could overturn his election as president.
In a filing on Saturday, a lawyer for Jill Stein, the Green Party presidential candidate, who began the recount bids in Pennsylvania as well as in Michigan and Wisconsin said petitioners are regular citizens of ordinary means and could not afford a $1 million bond payment that was ordered by Pennsylvania courts.
Lawyers for Pennsylvania Republicans and Mr. Trump had asked a judge on Thursday to dismiss Ms. Steins request, saying she had not identified any fraud or illegal activity during the Nov. 8 election.
In a statement, Ms. Stein left open the possibility that she had further plans in Pennsylvania, and promised a major announcement on Monday morning. She criticized the $1 million bond needed to proceed with a recount.
This is yet another sign that Pennsylvanias antiquated election law is stacked against voters, Ms. Stein said. We will pursue every available remedy to ensure Pennsylvanians can trust what happened in this election.
Ms. Stein is funding the recount bids, having collected $6.9 million as of Saturday evening. Opponents, though, are concerned that local governments, particularly in Michigan, will end up shouldering millions of dollars in costs.
A smaller recount targeting some precincts in Pennsylvania is still occurring.
While the statewide effort was withdrawn, a related campaign to recount votes in targeted precincts in places like Philadelphia is continuing, but it would fall far short of the statewide recount Ms. Stein had sought.
A bit more in the article on the progress of the WI and MI recounts including link to their own articles.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/03/us/jill-stein-pennsylvania-recount.html
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-...aign-drops-her-recount-effort-in-pennsylvania
"Stein's campaign intends to continue its county-by-county recount effort in Pennsylvania, said attorney Larry Otter. That requires efforts in individual precincts, a process that requires three voters to petition their local election boards.
"In the region, a recount in Philadelphia is already underway in 75 of the city's more than 1,600 divisions. Judges in Bucks and Delaware counties will hear arguments this week on whether to grant recounts, Otter said."
So people don't jump to conclusions about Stein running away with the money.