A Philadelphia judge has denied Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein’s request for a forensic audit of voting machines used in the city. Common Pleas Court Judge Abbe Fletman, in a written opinion issued Wednesday, said Stein “is mistaken” in her claim that the state Election Code gives her a right to the audit she requested. Stein had appealed a vote by the Philadelphia city commissioners last Thursday, denying her request for an audit. The commissioners did allow a recount requested in 75 of the city’s 1,686 voting divisions, which found no discrepancies in the voting machine results. Ilann Maazel, an attorney for Stein’s campaign, repeated in a hearing Tuesday claims already made in other Pennsylvania counties and in a federal filing, that voting machines used here are “extremely vulnerable” to computer hacking.
Fletman, in that hearing, pressed Maazel on whether Stein’s campaign had any evidence to suggest Philadelphia’s machines had been hacked.
Maazel had none to offer, but noted the U.S. government has said hackers from outside of the country had attempted to hack voting systems in Illinois and Arizona and had obtained access to emails from the Democratic National Committee.
Maazel, in a statement from Stein’s campaign after Fletman’s ruling was issued, said “The court’s decision will deny voters the chance to know the truth about this election.”
Full Article: Judge denies Jill Stein request for audit of Philly voting machines.