Green Party candidate Jill Stein signs a petition requesting a recount of the presidential voting in Wisconsin. (Photo: Stein campaign)
A Dane County judge’s decision not to order a hand recount of Wisconsin’s presidential vote will be allowed to stand.
Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein’s campaign said Wednesday it will not appeal the ruling, given the tight time constraints the effort would be under. Spokeswoman Margy Levinson said in a statement that they “want to focus our resources on the recount.”
“Our focus will be on verifying the vote on the ground and we urge all counties to follow the recommendation of the judge and conduct a hand recount, which she called the ‘gold standard,'” she said.
At least 19 county clerks have indicated they plan to rely on tabulating machines for at least a portion of their recounts.
Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Mike Haas praised the decision, saying it provides more certainty for clerks as they prepare to begin their recounts on Thursday morning. “We’re pleased that they made it quickly, so that there’s no…outstanding questions about whether we should move forward or whether there would be any interruptions,” Haas said.