Jill Stein Files for Wisconsin Recount as Fundraising Surpasses $5 Million

Jill Stein, Green Party candidate in the presidential election, has filed for a recount in Wisconsin after raising more than $5 million.

November 25, 2016

Jill Stein, the Green Party's candidate in the U.S. presidential election, has formally filed a petition for a recount in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Elections Commission confirmed Friday they had received Stein's recount petition less than two hours before the deadline. Wisconsin Elections Commission administrator Michael Haas confirmed the WEC received two petitions to recount the state’s votes for president—from the Jill Stein for President Campaign and from Rocky Roque De La Fuente—Friday.

“The Commission is preparing to move forward with a statewide recount of votes for President of the United States, as requested by these candidates,” Haas said in a news release. The recount is said to begin late next week after Stein’s campaign pays for the recount fee, which is still being calculated. For comparison, the state’s last recount happened in 2011 for the Supreme Court election. The Associated Pressreported the recount costs for the 2011 Supreme Court election were over $520,000 to count the 1.5 million votes cast. Costs for the presidential election’s recount are expected to be even higher, since 2.975 million votes were cast. Donald Trump won Wisconsin by 1,404,000 votes to Hillary Clinton’s 1,381,823.

Haas reported the state will work up against a Dec. 13 federal deadline for the recount. The administrator also explained more about the recount process:

Earlier this week, Stein launched a fundraising campaign to assist in securing recounts in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. Deadlines for the remaining two states aren't until next week, though Stein’s campaign has already raised more than $5 million at the time of publication.

You can read the Stein campaign and De La Fuente petitions here and here.