DETROIT—Michigan’s presidential recount appeared in doubt on Wednesday, two days after it started, after a state appeals court said the Green Party candidate’s poor showing in the election disqualified her from seeking another look at the vote.
Meanwhile, the fate of Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s request for a recount in Pennsylvania must wait at least until a federal court hearing on Friday, just four days before the Dec. 13 federal deadline for states to certify their election results.
President-elect Donald Trump narrowly defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in both states and Wisconsin, which started its recount last week.
None of the recounts were expected to affect the outcome of the election. Stein, who received about 1 percent of the vote in all three states, said she requested them to verify the accuracy of the vote. She has suggested, without evidence, that the votes were susceptible to hacking.
Here’s what’s happening in each state and in Nevada, where a partial recount of the race was requested by independent presidential candidate Roque De La Fuente:
Wisconsin
The recount is more than 70 percent complete in Wisconsin, and Clinton has gained just 82 votes on Trump, who won the state by more than 22,000 votes. The Wisconsin Elections Commission reported Wednesday that 34 of 72 counties had completed their work and that the others are on track to finish by next week’s deadline. More than 2.1 million votes out of the nearly 3 million cast have been recounted.
Michigan
A recount that started Monday might end after the state appeals court said Stein has no standing to have the votes recounted. The court said she finished fourth in the election and doesn’t qualify as an “aggrieved” candidate under Michigan law.
The court ordered the state elections board to reject her recount petition. Attorney General Bill Schuette, a Republican, said the decision means the recount “must stop.” But Stein’s attorney, Mark Brewer, insisted the recount isn’t over.
Stein is appealing that decision to the Michigan Supreme Court.
