Trump Campaign Objects To Michigan Hand Recount

LANSING (WWJ/AP) - President-elect Donald Trump's campaign has filed an objection to Green Party candidate Jill Stein's request for a hand recount of Michigan's presidential election votes.

The objection filed Thursday will delay or block the recount, which the state was planning to begin Friday.

The Board of State Canvassers has now scheduled a meeting Friday to hear arguments. The Michigan Bureau of Elections says the recount cannot begin until two business days after the four-member, bipartisan board resolves the objection.

[View a copy of the objection]

Trump's attorneys say Stein, who finished fourth in Michigan, is not "aggrieved" by any alleged election fraud or mistake, that a recount couldn't be finished on time and that her petition wasn't properly signed.

Trump says Stein is asking for an expensive, time-consuming recount "on the basis of nothing more than speculation."

In a media release, the GOP called Stein's recount petition a "ridiculous" waste of taxpayer money.

"Jill Stein's 1 percent temper tantrum cannot go unchecked," said Michigan Republican Party Chairman Ronna Romney McDaniel. "Stein is not an aggrieved candidate, she cannot possibly win, and she is putting the participation of every single Michigan voter in jeopardy, for no reason, at an exorbitant cost to the Michigan taxpayers."

The GOP claims that Stein waited until "minutes before the deadline, making a recount impossible under state and federal guidelines" (despite being able to file much earlier) and that she's asking for the more time-consuming by-hand count which they say would not be completed by the federal and state deadline of Dec. 13.

Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton by 10,704 votes out of nearly 4.8 million ballots cast in Michigan, but Stein alleges that irregularities and the potential for hacking into scanning devices call the results into question.

Stein has also requested recounts in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which began its recount on Thursday.

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