As a MI resident who is on the hook for paying for this recount (at an estimated cost of $12 million), I am more than 100% FED UP! The idea that the request for a recount by a candidate who has no evidence of fraud, and got less than 1% of the vote in my state is absolutely insane. If this is all about Jill Stein and her recount efforts, then why is Stein being represented by a lawyer who is also one of the most well-known Democrat Party activists in MI? If we can’t go through and DEDUCT all of the votes that were counted multiple times in Wayne County (mostly in Detroit precincts) then this whole recount is a sham anyhow…
The Michigan Court of Appeals rejected Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s request for a recount of presidential ballots in Michigan.
The court ruled that the Board of State Canvassers should not have allowed the recount, because Stein has not chance of winning the presidential election due to the recount.
“Accordingly, we grant the requests of the Attorney General and President-Elect Trump for issuance of a writ of mandamus,” a court official said in a statement. “We direct the Board of State Canvassers to reject the Nov. 30, 2016 petition of candidate Stein that precipitated the current recount process. We retain jurisdiction.”
The Michigan Court of Appeals agreed that Jill Stein is not an aggrieved candidate and the recount must stop.
— Bill Schuette (@SchuetteOnDuty) December 7, 2016
The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the federal judge’s order to continue the hand recount, but the Michigan Court of Appeals rejected the recount process.
The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals made clear, in their ruling, that “If, subsequently, the Michigan courts determine that Plaintiffs’ recount is improper under Michigan state law for any reason, we expect the district court to entertain any properly filed motions to dissolve or modify its order in this case.”
The combined effect of the two rulings appears to set up further court proceedings in front of Goldsmith and the Michigan Republican Party has already filed for another federal hearing.
…Andrea Bitely, a spokeswoman for Schuette, said the Michigan Court of Appeals said “there is no conflict between” its order and the federal district court’s temporary restraining order, so the recount should end immediately.
However, “to ensure clarity for Michigan taxpayers, (and as recommended in the 6th Circuit’s opinion issued this evening), the Attorney General is now filing in the federal district court a motion to dissolve the temporary restraining order,” Bitely said.
Mark Brewer, an attorney for Stein, said the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to stay the Republicans’ request to stop the recount, so it will continue until all the parties can get back to federal court to plead their case, again, before Goldsmith.
The state panel said that to qualify as “aggrieved,” Stein “must be able to allege a good faith belief that but for mistake or fraud,” she would have had a reasonable chance of winning.” – Legal Insurection
Opponents of the recount claim that it’s too expensive and that Stein, who received just 1 percent of the vote, is wasting resources.
“This is a win for Michigan taxpayers,” Michigan Republican Party chairman Ronna Romney McDaniel said in a statement. “The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in our favor, determining that the petition for recount filed by Dr. Jill Stein should have been denied. Dr. Stein is not an aggrieved candidate as she has no chance of winning the election in Michigan.”
The legal arguments are being heard in both state and federal courts, and the attorney general said the battle could theoretically end up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.
“I’m just saying, theoretically, it could go there,” Schuette said. “I’m just taking it just one step at a time, and I’m convinced, and I have confidence in the Michigan court system, and the Michigan judicial system, to uphold the Michigan statute, and the Michigan law will prevail.”
Schuette said the battle is a matter for the state courts because he said there is no U.S. constitutional right to a recount.
Stein’s campaign handed the Michigan secretary of state a check for $973,250 on Wednesday. The campaign said it intends to pay all fees associated with the recount in Michigan, and is currently recruiting volunteers to observe the hand recounts that are likely to take place in 19 sites, representing all 83 counties across the state.
Meanwhile, Michigan Republicans said the request for a hand recount of presidential votes could cost taxpayers up to $12 million, a dozen times more than Stein will have to pay.
“The filing by Jill Stein is a reckless attempt to undermine the will of Michigan voters. Jill Stein made her 1 percent temper tantrum official and will waste millions of Michigan taxpayers’ dollars, and has acknowledged that the recount will not change anything regarding the presidential election,” said Michigan Republican Party chairman Ronna Romney McDaniel. – Click on Detroit
I’m not sure why the votes that were counted by machines that were said to be counting votes more than once (and perhaps even multiple times) in a heavily Democratic county are allowed to stand in the final count and will NOT be recounted. Why were those voted included in the final vote that was CERTIFIED by the state of MI?
Watch at the end when the reporter asks the election official if MI residents should be concerned about those votes and he simply glosses over his question:
