Wisconsin judge rejects bid to stop recount

WISCONSIN: A US judge in Wisconsin on Friday rejected a request by supporters of President-elect Donald Trump to stop a recount of election votes, while a Pennsylvania judge said he would rule on Monday on whether to allow a recount to go forward.

The results of the November 8 election have been challenged in three states by Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who finished fourth in the presidential poll. The other state is Michigan.

Even if all three recounts were carried out, they would be extremely unlikely to change the outcome of Trump’s win over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

US District Judge Paul Diamond in Philadelphia said at a hearing that he would return a ruling “first thing Monday morning” on whether he would grant a request for a partial recount of paper ballots and a forensic examination of voting computer systems before the national December 13 certification deadline.

Lawyers for the Green Party, the Trump campaign and the state argued the matter for three hours, with Stein’s supporters saying the state’s election process was so disorganized that state officials had not known the recount petition filing deadlines for some counties.