A full statewide recount is underway in Wisconsin and one is about to begin in Michigan in spite of concerted Republican legal efforts to stop them. Legal challenges to recount efforts in three states have been filed by allies of President-elect Donald J. Trump. While none of the challenges immediately derailed the recounts in those states, they are likely to complicate Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein’s efforts to recount ballots in the three states. Frustrated by developments in state court, the Green Party decided to move their effort to request a statewide recount in Pennsylvania to federal court. In a statement issued late on Friday evening, campaign lawyer Jonathan Abady reassured recount supports: “Make no mistake — the Stein campaign will continue to fight for a statewide recount in Pennsylvania.”
A partial recount has been requested in Nevada. Independent candidate Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente paid a fee of $14,154.98 to finance a recount ballots in 93 precincts, or 5 percent of the total.
Durham County North Carolina is is racing to meet a court-ordered deadline to recount the gubernatorial race. After a requested extension was rejected on Friday, the Durham County Board of Elections on Friday unsuccessfully requested an extension of the state’s deadline to recount 90,000 votes – arguing the recount can’t be completed by Monday evening. Later Friday, the State Board of Elections denied the extension./
University of Muchigan computer scientist (and Verified Voting Board of Advisors member) Alex Halderman considered vulnerabilities that could allow a foreign government to attack our voting systems and the value of paper ballots as a protection against such attacks. Stanford computer scientist and Verified Voting founder David Dill argued in Scientific American that election security is a matter of national security.
Voters in Austria return to the polls to a presidential re-run and voters in Italy will decide on a proposed constitutional amendment widely perceived as a referendum on Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and, in a surprise outcome, long-ruling President of The Gambia Yahya Jammeh was defeated by opposition candidate Adama Barrow.