Report: Clinton Campaign To Participate In Wisconsin, Other Recount Efforts
WASHINGTON (KDKA/AP) -- Hillary Clinton's campaign says that it will participate in a recount initiated by Green Party nominee Jill Stein in Wisconsin.
Marc Elias, the campaign's general counsel, wrote in a statement on Medium:
"Because we had not uncovered any actionable evidence of hacking or outside attempts to alter the voting technology, we had not planned to exercise this option ourselves, but now that a recount has been initiated in Wisconsin, we intend to participate in order to ensure the process proceeds in a manner that is fair to all sides. If Jill Stein follows through as she has promised and pursues recounts in Pennsylvania and Michigan, we will take the same approach in those states as well."
Elias noted that the votes separating the candidates "well exceeds the largest margin ever overcome in a recount," but that the "principle" was important, regardless of the potential to change the outcome.
"We feel it is important, on principle, to ensure our campaign is legally represented in any court proceedings and represented on the ground in order to monitor the recount process itself," he wrote.
State Elections Commission Administrator Mike Haas said Stein filed the request around mid-afternoon Friday, about an hour and a half ahead of a 5 p.m. CST deadline.
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Stein's campaign has been raising money online to cover the costs of recounts in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. She says she wants to make sure hackers didn't skew the results in those swing states. The campaign had raised about $5.2 million as of Friday afternoon.
Wisconsin law calls for the state to perform a recount at a candidate's request as long as he or she can pay for it. The state has never performed a presidential recount. Election officials estimate the effort will cost up to $1 million.
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