A federal judge on Wednesday effectively ended the ongoing presidential recount in Michigan by lifting the order he previously issued allowing it to move forward.
U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith halted the recount, which began on Monday amid legal challenges, on the grounds that the Green Party’s Jill Stein and other plaintiffs “have not presented evidence of tampering or mistake. Instead, they present speculative claims going to the vulnerability of the voting machinery—but not actual injury.”
The ruling seemed to agree with an earlier decision by the Michigan Court of Appeals, which said that Stein did not have a chance at winning the presidency and therefore wasn’t an aggrieved candidate with standing to call for a recount.
Stein’s campaign said it was “deeply disappointed” by the decision and would appeal the court’s ruling. On Twitter, Stein said Goldsmith “gave in” to President-elect Donald Trump and state Republicans. Trump and Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette filed lawsuits last week to halt the recount, claiming it would pose a financial burden on taxpayers.
“We are not backing down from this fight―a fight to protect the hard-fought, hard-won civil and voting rights of all Americans. Our campaign will seek immediate relief in Michigan’s Supreme Court to ensure the recount that is already underway in all Michigan counties continues,” said Hayley Horowitz and Jessica Clarke, the Stein campaign’s lead attorneys in Michigan, in a statement Wednesday.
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