After a New York magazine report about a group of computer scientists urging Hillary Clinton to challenge the results in three swing states because the results “may have been hacked,” Jill Stein took it upon herself to play the hero, launching a fundraising effort on Wednesday to file for recounts in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
Stein—after helping play the spoiler in the election—is either suffering from extreme guilt or is delusional that this will save her reputation as a spoiler for the ages. (Her vote tally in Michigan and Wisconsin would have helped elect Clinton, assuming most of those votes were from liberals.)
In Michigan, Stein had 51,463 votes; Clinton lost the state by the smallest margin in history—10,704.
In Wisconsin, where Clinton lost by 22,525 votes, Stein had 30,980 votes.
In Pennsylvania, Stein received 48,912 votes. Clinton lost by 57,588.
Stein launched her bid Wednesday—at first asking for $2.5 million. Then, she moved the goal post to $4.5 million. Now, she’s aiming for $7 million.
Con artist Jill Stein keeps raising the amount of money she is asking for to fund #Recount2016 every time it’s met! pic.twitter.com/8cTTI1Iku5
— Makada 🇺🇸 (@_Makada_) November 25, 2016
Already past the five million mark, she’ll likely get there—after all, the two million people who voted for Hillary Clinton and gave her a popular vote victory are pretty pissed that their vote doesn’t really count. And what’s five dollars anyway, right? Well, it’s a whole lot of turquoise necklaces.
But what if Jill Stein spends the recount money on chunky turquoise jewelry
— Leslie Grossman (@MissLeslieG) November 24, 2016
As of 1 p.m. today, no petition had been filed in Wisconsin. She has until 5 p.m., ET. [UPDATE: Jill Stein has filed for a recount with the Wisconsin Elections Commission.]
A recount petition has not yet been received by @WI_Elections from Jill Stein campaign. Deadline 5pm. We will issue press release when filed
— Wisconsin Elections (@WI_Elections) November 25, 2016
As a website lawsnewz.com (OK, not the most trustworthy sounding name, but it’s owned by Mediaite’s Dan Abrams, a former ABC News anchor) pointed out, Stein doesn’t actually guarantee that any of this money goes to the recount. She can still apply for a recount and be denied and apparently, can keep this money for whatever.
Jill Stein next week with your money pic.twitter.com/kWsFqsF260
— jay caspian kang (@jaycaspiankang) November 25, 2016
Indeed, the fine print on her website reads:
“We cannot guarantee a recount will happen in any of these states we are targeting. We can only pledge we will demand recounts in those states.
If we raise more than what’s needed, the surplus will also go toward election integrity efforts and to promote voting system reform.”
You know what I can guarantee? That she’s not getting a single dollar from me.