Supporters of Republican Donald Trump filed a federal lawsuit trying to halt Wisconsin's ongoing presidential recount, and Michigan's attorney general today sued to stop a recount from happening in his state.
The Wisconsin lawsuit and motion for a temporary restraining order was filed late yesterday in US District Court in Madison by the Great America PAC, the Stop Hillary PAC and a Wisconsin voter, Ronald R. Johnson.
The legal filings contend that the recount is unconstitutional because it doesn't satisfy equal protection requirements under the law and may not get done by the December 13 federal deadline to certify the vote, putting Wisconsin's electoral votes in jeopardy.
No court hearings had been scheduled as of this morning.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice was reviewing the lawsuit, said Johnny Koremenos, spokesman for Attorney General Brad Schimel.
Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who requested both recounts and a third in Pennsylvania, has suggested that Trump and his backers would try to delay the recounts to make them hard or impossible to complete by the December 13 deadline for states to certify their election results or have their electoral votes be decided by Congress, which is controlled by Republicans.
A spokeswoman for Stein's campaign didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment today.
With workers in Wisconsin busy re-counting votes for a second day, Michigan's state elections board was meeting about the Trump campaign's request to deny Stein's recount request.
In his request to the Michigan Supreme Court to block the hand recount, Attorney General Bill Schuette, like the Trump campaign, argued that Stein cannot seek the "frivolous" recount because she was not "aggrieved" to the point at which a potential miscounting of votes could have cost her the election.
She garnered 1 per cent of the vote in Michigan.
The earliest a Michigan recount could start would be next week.
In Pennsylvania, a hearing is scheduled for Monday on Stein's push to secure a court-ordered statewide recount there.
Elections officials in all three states have expressed confidence in their results. President-elect Trump won all three states by narrow margins.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker echoed that sentiment Friday, telling reporters that he doesn't expect his state's recount to significantly change the results.
"Anytime there's a canvass or a recount there's slight adjustments, but I don't think you're going to see a significant adjustment," the Republican governor said.
Walker also said he's open to changing the state's election laws to prevent minor candidates from being allowed to request recounts.
Stein finished a distant fourth in Wisconsin with a little more than 1 per cent of the vote.
Trump won Wisconsin by about 22,000 votes, or less than 1 percentage point, over Clinton.
Stein requested the recount which began yesterday and had to be done by December 13.
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