Jill Stein and her US Green Party will be seeking emergency refiled in federal court, demanding a statewide recount on constitutional grounds, the party said on Sunday, after Stein said that they would not seek recount of votes in Pennsylvania, where Donald Trump won by a small margin. They had said that the party could not afford the $1 million bond that the court had ordered.
She had attempted to get recounts in three states - Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, all of them won by Donald Trump unexpectedly.
"Petitioners are regular citizens of ordinary means. They cannot afford to post the $1,000,000 bond required by the court," read a court filing. The Greens' withdrew their court case two days before the hearing was scheduled on Monday. Trump had won Pennsylvania by less than 1 percent of votes.
"Make no mistake – the Stein campaign will continue to fight for a statewide recount in Pennsylvania. We are committed to this fight to protect the civil and voting rights of all Americans. 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. As a result, on Monday the Stein campaign will escalate our campaign in Pennsylvania and file for emergency relief in federal court, demanding a statewide recount on constitutional grounds," the party said on Sunday.
She further added, "PA's election law and recount process raise serious questions about due process and whether fundamental democratic rights are protected."
Apart from Pennsylvania, she also sought a recount on war footing in Michigan as well.
"We refuse to allow the Trump campaign and its allies block a fair and timely Michigan recount through delay and obstruction. I filed a complaint Friday in federal court to challenge the MI Bureau of Elections' delay of the recount until the middle of next week. The MI delay creates a risk that the recount will not end on time. That is unfair to Michiganders. The Attorney General said today in a court filing that a delay would jeopardise MI's ability to select electors for the Electoral College. A delay may deny MI voters the right to participate in the pres. election according to fair rules + on equal footing w/ other citizens. MI deserves a fair, accurate + timely recount—a democratic process that should be routine, not subject to endless political attack," she said.
