Manawatu Standard

Vote recounts sought in 3 US states

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"The fact is the outcome was very close in those three states, a very small margin of victory. This is something positive we're doing to ensure the integrity of the voting system.'' Jill Stein, Green Party

UNITED STATES: The state of Wisconsin is poised to hold a recount after the Green Party’s US presidenti­al candidate led a $3 million fundraisin­g drive following claims of voting irregulari­ties in three key swing states which may have helped Donald Trump win the election.

In less than 24 hours, Jill Stein raised $3.8m online and has instructed lawyers to file for a recount in Wisconsin, and Michigan and Pennsylvan­ia next week.

Trump won all three by about 1 per cent despite Hillary Clinton leading in almost all opinion polls in those states. A group of computer scientists and election lawyers have claimed to have found evidence the results may have been manipulate­d.

‘‘We’re not doing this because we expect the results to be overturned or because there’s a smoking gun,’’ Stein said. ‘‘We are doing it because the American people deserve to have confidence in the voting system.’’

Clinton fared 7 per cent worse in Wisconsin counties that used electronic voting machines rather than paper ballots, and despite a lack of any evidence, a cyber attack on the machines has been suggested as a possible explanatio­n.

The White House has confirmed that Russian hackers infiltrate­d the computers of the Democratic National Committee during the election campaign and potentiall­y that of a top adviser to Clinton.

‘‘This was a hacked election party databases, individual­s there is no doubt there was a lot of hacking around this election and voting equipment is vulnerable to cyber attacks,’’ Stein said.

’’The fact is the outcome was very close in those three states, a very small margin of victory. This is something positive we’re doing to ensure the integrity of the voting system and restore people’s faith.’’

While reversing the outcomes in all three states would hand the election to Clinton, Stein said the recount bid was non-partisan. It would not benefit her personally, as she won less than 1.4 million votes overall.

While Trump has won 306 electoral college votes, compared with 232 for Clinton, she has nearly 2 million more votes than him nationwide and pressure is mounting among liberals for a full investigat­ion.

Trump claimed throughout the campaign that the process was ‘‘rigged’’ against him and that he would not commit to accepting the final result.

‘‘Look who can’t accept the election results,’’ Kellyanne Conway, his campaign manager tweeted yesterday.

As a result of Stein’s fundraisin­g, the Wisconsin Elections Commission said it was preparing for a recount, but insisted there was no evidence of vote tampering.

The process is expected to be long and complex, with paperless voting machines across dozens of districts being impounded and subjected to forensic analysis.

‘‘We expect it to go to court and there will be challenges along the way,’’ Stein said. - Telegraph Group

 ?? PHOTO: REUTERS ?? Green Party presidenti­al candidate Jill Stein raised $3.8 million in less than 24 hours to fund the recount.
PHOTO: REUTERS Green Party presidenti­al candidate Jill Stein raised $3.8 million in less than 24 hours to fund the recount.

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