It Ain’t Over: An Election Recount Is Being Crowdfunded For Three States That Clinton Lost

Just when you thought the American horror story that was the U.S. election had come to its grizzly, unexpected end, it lurches back to life, like Jason Voorhees at the end of Friday the 13th.

Third party candidate Jill Stein has crowdfunded almost $US4.5 million to pay for a recount in three battleground states that cost Hillary Clinton the election, ABC News reports.

“After a divisive and painful presidential race, reported hacks into voter and party databases and individual email accounts are causing many Americans to wonder if our election results are reliable,” she said in a statement.

Honestly if Jill Stein steals all this money to fund her new folk-rap album, I will be real mad but kind of respect her

— Jill Twiss (@jilltwiss) November 24, 2016

The campaign was inspired by claims from experts suggesting there was persuasive evidence that the results in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania had been either manipulated or hacked, resulting in a Donald Trump victory.

The vote-weirdness inspiring their suspicion? Clinton apparently received fewer votes in the counties that used “optical scanners and paper ballots.”

Of course, the Washington Post is cautioning Democratic supporters to not get their hopes up, reiterating the pre-election cry that these things are actually very difficult to rig (regardless of Trump’s allegedly cosy relationship with Russia, who were believed to be behind the DNC hacks).

And the statisticians over at FiveThirtyEight say that the discrepancies can be easily explained when you dig into the state's demographics. (Let them explain it in more detail.)

That, however, is not keeping Stein, who was criticised for funnelling votes away from Clinton, from trying to fund a recount, ironically with the aim of swapping the current President-elect for Hillary.

Jill Stein is the friend who ruins your wedding but really shows up for you during the divorce.

— Morgan Murphy (@morgan_murphy) November 24, 2016

As of this writing, Stein is a touch shy of her goal, accounting for attorney’s fees and the costs of conducting recounts in the three states.

The deadline to request a recount in Wisconsin is November 25; it’s November 28 in Pennsylvania and November 30 in Michigan.

Happy Thanksgiving?

Jill Stein is fighting for a recount in multiple states. Meanwhile, Gary Johnson is figuring out the difference between a unicorn & a horse.

— Michael (@Home_Halfway) November 24, 2016

Photo: iStock.