Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein's lawsuit to spur a Pennsylvania recount was blocked by a federal judge on Monday.
Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein is now one for three in her quest for statewide vote recounts in the 2016 election.
On Monday, United States District Judge Paul Diamond ruled against recounting all paper ballots in Pennsylvania and blocked Stein from inspecting voting machines in certain counties, according to a Politico report.
This decision is consistent with the Michigan Supreme Court’s refusal last week to undergo a statewide recount at Stein's behest. Wisconsin is the lone state that approved Stein’s recount request, which is scheduled to be completed on Monday.
Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin are all battleground states in which President-elect Donald Trump narrowly beat Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton. Stein was fighting an uphill battle in Pennsylvania, as it is the only state where candidates cannot initiate a direct recount request themselves and must typically go through the courts.
However, a path separate from the courts still remains for a vote recount in Pennsylvania, which would have to be initiated by voters.
A statewide recount in Pennsylvania can be issued if voters in every precinct submit affidavits to their clerks asking for recounts in their respective divisions, according to Politico. Three voters from each precinct must sign and file an affidavit. As of Nov. 28, 100 of the necessary 9,163 voting precincts had submitted requests — only a fraction of the requests needed to successfully initiate a vote recount.
It appears as if Trump’s 70,638 vote lead in Pennsylvania will stand.
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