Jill Stein’s Green Party dropped one of the last hurdles to Donald Trump becoming president Saturday, failing to put up a $1 million bond to finance a statewide recount, only to announce hours later that it would seek help from the federal courts.
The Green Party-backed Pennsylvania voters who were pressing the case withdrew it on Saturday, citing money concerns. They would have to come up with $1 million by 5 p.m. Monday, the day a court ruling was expected. Instead, they withdrew the case and thereby canceled any recount.
Later Saturday night, the top lawyer in the Green Party’s recount effort announced the party would instead pursue an emergency federal court order.
“We are committed to this fight to protect the civil and voting rights of all Americans,” recount campaign lawyer Jonathan Abady said in a statement. “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 decision to drop the complaint two days before a state court hearing was scheduled was an odd one because the Green Party had raised almost $7 million to finance recounts in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, which should have been more than enough to cover the bond bill.
One recount still continues in Wisconsin and another may happen in Michigan, but without overturning the Pennsylvania results, Trump’s Electoral College total is still a win and he will in all likelihood be sworn in as president.
Stein’s recount efforts had been dogged by charges that it was a money raising scam, and the decision not to move forward with the Pennsylvania challenge produced more of the same.
Michael Tracey, a prominent critic of the recount, wrote on Twitter Saturday night that Stein “has opened herself up to potential litigation. ‘Recount’ donors could claim they were defrauded. I hope she has a good bookkeeper.”
