US President-elect Trump says vote recount bids are ‘scam’

The AP reported, “The Wisconsin Elections Commission has voted unanimously to reject a request from Green Party candidate Jill Stein to conduct a hand recount of the presidential vote”.

“I think his ego is bruised by the fact that he lost the popular vote”, DeSipio said.

On Monday, Stein successfully filed for a recount in Pennsylvania within hours of the state’s deadline.

On Wednesday, the commission staff will explain the process to all county clerks and canvass members taking part in the recount.

The recount of Wisconsin’s presidential election could begin Thursday, after payment is received from one or both of the little-known candidates who are requesting it. She has raised more than $6 million for the effort, which will now turn to MI and Pennsylvania, where there are deadlines in the coming week. The legal challenge, in part, relies on an affidavit from University of MI researcher and cybersecurity expert Alex Halderman, who argues foreign hackers, including Russian Federation, have the capability of unleashing undetectable malware on voting machines to interfere with USA elections.

Election officials in Wisconsin said there was little evidence of any widespread election fraud but agreed to recount the votes anyway. That could mean some counties perform recounts by machine and some by hand.

Stein acknowledged in an interview with NPR Saturday that the recount effort is largely symbolic.

“It’s not likely to change anything”.

Is the USA voting system something to be trusted? The requirements for a recount to go forward in Pennsylvania make it very unlikely that one will go forward. Stein can not simply ask to contest the results – residents must demand it for her.

“We’ve said many times there are a number of reasons that we’re skeptical of claims that voting equipment isn’t working correctly or tampered with in the state of Wisconsin”, Haas said.

Stein said volunteers will also need to take a photo of the affidavit once it’s all filled out and email it to her recount team.

“There is no evidence of illegal voters”, Stein said in response. Stein set up a fundraising page on her website last week, saying that the money raised would be put toward recount efforts in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and MI.

Trump announced victory in the presidential election on Nov 9, after upsetting rival Clinton in several key states that were traditionally viewed as blue states, including Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Although Trump had warned before the election that the result might be “rigged”, he had offered no such complaint after his unexpected November 8 victory – until now.