As Cash Pours in, Goal Has Nearly Tripled in Just Two Days
Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein announced Wednesday that she will contest the results of the election in three states where the margin was extremely close, and set up a fundraising campaign to pay for it.
She asked for “over $2 million by this Friday, 4pm central,” adding that the filing costs alone would total $2.2 million and “attorneys fees are likely to be another $1 million.”
The cash poured in, and the goal was raised to $2.5 million, then $4.5 million, and now, having just broken the $5 million mark*, the goal sits at a whopping $7 million, practically triple the first estimate.
The website’s claims of costs involved have also risen dramatically.
Initially, they were estimated at $1 million. Now, the attorneys fees are “likely to be another $2-3 million, then there are the costs of the statewide recount observers in all three states. The total cost is likely to be $6-7 million.”
Rick Hasen, considered the go-to expert on election law and campaign finance, Friday morning posted a short blog post titled, “Quote of the Day: Jill Stein Recount BS Edition.”
Hasan points to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer that quotes Adam Bonin, “election-law attorney who represents Democrats.”
“If there were something to do here, there are a lot of us who would be jumping on it,” Bonin tells the Inquirer.
Bonin said that while every election has “little hitches and glitches, I haven’t seen anything which would cause me to question the results.” Nor, he said, “have I ever seen evidence that would lead me to call the machines into question. . . . You can’t just go on a fishing expedition. You have to have allegations of specific fraud, or machines that didn’t accept votes.”
There are many people who want to see a different result from the election, but Stein can’t point to any credible reason as to why the recount is needed.
Some are pointing out that even Stein admits she can’t guarantee a recount will happen, but if it doesn’t, no refunds:
All this has left many to suggest this is merely a fundraising effort.
Calling the near-tripling of the fundraising goal “very fishy,” Talking Points Memo editor in chief Josh Marshall writes: “At best, I think this is basically a publicity stunt for Jill Stein. At worst, well … the ever-escalating goals speak for themselves. An election campaign really has no limit on how much money it can raise or spend. Recounts are finite. There’s only so much recounting you can do – even when you pile on ‘lawyers fees’ and fees for recount workers.”
*UPDATE: 1:04 PM EST –
Breaks $5 million mark:
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