Stein seeks federal court over Clinton votes recount effort

Unites States' Green Party Presidential candidate Jill Stein's campaign said it would seek a federal court order for a recount of the votes cast in Pennsylvania, which President-elect Donald Trump won narrowly over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

"Make no mistake - the Stein campaign will continue to fight for a state-wide recount in Pennsylvania," Efe news agency quoted Jonathan Abady, an attorney working on the recount effort, as saying in a statement on Saturday.

"We are committed to this fight to protect the civil and voting rights of all Americans," Abady added.

The Stein campaign had said on Saturday that it was dropping its efforts to seek a recount in state courts after a judge ruled that it would have to post a $1 million bond.

"Over the past several days, it has become clear that the barriers to verifying the vote in Pennsylvania are so pervasive and that the state court system is so ill-equipped to address this problem that we must seek federal court intervention," the campaign said in a statement.

Stein announced plans to hold a rally and press conference outside the Trump Tower in New York on Monday to discuss the Pennsylvania recount effort.

Stein, who received a little more than 1 per cent of the nationwide popular vote on November 8, is spearheading recounts in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Stein denies that she is trying to overturn the election in favour of Clinton though , though she has raised millions of dollars to pay for the recounts.

According to the latest figures, Clinton has won the national popular vote by a margin of more than 2.5 million.

--IANS

vgu/