The Michigan Supreme Court has denied Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s appeal to restart the statewide presidential recount, exhausting what’s likely the last legal option for the Stein campaign. In a 3-2 order issued Friday evening, the court ruled a recount petition in Michigan “must allege both that fraud or mistake exists and that the alleged fraud or mistake caused the candidate to be aggrieved.” The majority order concurs with a State Court of Appeals ruling that ordered Michigan’s Board of State Canvassers, which certifies election results and handles other election-related issues, to reject the recount on grounds that Stein was not sufficiently “aggrieved” as required under state statute earlier this week. The Michigan Supreme Court justices split along partisan lines, with all three Republican-nominated judges ordering a denial of Stein’s appeal. The two Democratic-nominated judges, Richard Bernstein and Bridget McCormack, each wrote dissenting opinions.
McCormack wrote that she would have approved the appeal and ordered expedited oral arguments, while Bernstein wrote he would have reversed the Court of Appeals decision altogether and allowed the recount to continue.
Stein’s legal effort won a small victory on Thursday morning when Republican-nominated Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Young Jr. and Justice Joan Larsen agreed to recuse themselves from the case due to being on a list of potential Supreme Court nominees for president-elect Donald Trump, who won Michigan’s election.
… In a press conference held Friday morning, Stein attorney Mark Brewer said the recount had uncovered problems on a statewide basis, making it an important effort to continue. “Every vote is not being counted because again, we’ve seen shifts here and votes being counted for the first time, because they were not on election night,” Brewer said.
Full Article: Michigan Supreme Court denies Jill Stein’s appeal in recount case | MLive.com.