There will be no recount of paper ballots in Pennsylvania, a federal judge ruled Monday. US District Judge Paul Diamond rejected a request backed by Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein to recount paper ballots and scan some counties’ election systems for signs that the 2016 presidential election in Pennsylvania, where Donald Trump won by a narrow margin, was hacked. In his 31-page decision, Judge Diamond wrote there existed at least six grounds that required him to reject the Green Party’s lawsuit, writing that the suspicion that the election was hacked “borders on the irrational.” The recount bid, he said, could “ensure that no Pennsylvania vote counts,” as Tuesday is the federal deadline to certify the vote for the Electoral College.
… Even if recounts had taken place in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, it was considered extremely unlikely that they would have changed the outcome of the election to favor Mrs. Clinton, who also backed the recounts.
But some experts defended the effort, saying it could serve a valuable purpose in restoring confidence in the US electoral system and drive discussion about how to improve it.
“Examining the physical evidence in these states – even if it finds nothingamiss – will help allay doubt and give voters justified confidence that the results are accurate,” wrote J. Alex Halderman, a professor of computer science at the University of Michigan, for Medium. “It will also set a precedent for routinely examining paper ballots, which will provide an important deterrent against cyberattacks on future elections.”
Full Article: Federal judge nixes Pennsylvania ballot recount. Why? – CSMonitor.com.