Jill Stein drops recount case in Pennsylvania

Jill Stein, the Green Party presidential nominee, stated on Saturday that she will be dropping her bid for a statewide election recount in Pennsylvania.

She says that the main reason for the change is the cost on voters due to a court ruling that states those voters requesting the recount have to pay a $1 million bond. She has also stated she will be making a “major announcement” about her next steps at 10 am during a news conference Monday. The conference will take place outside of the Trump Tower in New York.

“The judge’s outrageous demand that voters pay such an exorbitant figure is a shameful, unacceptable barrier to democratic participation,” Stein stated. “This is yet another sign that Pennsylvania’s antiquated election law is stacked against voters. By demanding a $1 million bond from voters yesterday, the court made clear it has no interest in giving a fair hearing to these voters’ legitimate concerns over the accuracy, security and fairness of an election tainted by suspicion.”

— Clinton camp backs Jill Stein’s election recount efforts — 

Stein also tweeted on Saturday that the high cost falls squarely on the shoulders of elected leaders.

“#Recount2016 is so expensive because of elected leaders who have refused to invest in a 21st-century voting system.”

Stein has been working to get recounts done in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin; all three were battleground states, where Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton by narrow margins.

There has been no evidence so far of election tampering, but Stein has said in recent interviews that “you cannot tell unless you’re actually counting paper votes.”

Meanwhile, Michigan’s attorney general filed a suit to stop the recount in that state, and Trump supporters in Wisconsin have also been trying to stop the recount efforts.

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