US election: Hillary Clinton urged to demand vote recount

Hillary Clinton is being urged to demand a recount in three swing states won by Donald Trump after electoral lawyers and computer scientists claimed to have found strong evidence that the election results in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania may have been manipulated or hacked.

The group, which includes the director of the University of Michigan centre for Computer Security, held a conference call last week with John Podesta, Mrs Clinton’s campaign manager and campaign counsel Marc Elias to make their case, the New York Magazine has reported.

They presented evidence that indicated in Wisconsin Mrs Clinton had received seven percent fewer votes in counties that relied on electronic voting machines compared with those that used optical scanners and paper ballots.

The scientists estimated that extrapolation of the findings indicated the then Democratic nominee who lost the state by 27,000 votes may have been denied up to 30,000.

The group doesn’t claim to have found proof of hacking but argues their evidence merits an independent review. Mr Trump won 290 Electoral College votes to Mrs Clinton’s 232, with Michigan’s 16 votes left unapportioned because the race was too close to call. 

For Mrs Clinton to win the Electoral College, she would have to win Michigan’s votes and overturn the results in Wisconsin, which has 10 Electoral College votes and Pennsylvania, which has 20.

However, Mrs Clinton has only days left in which to challenge the results. The deadline to file for a recount in Wisconsin is Friday, in Pennsylvania it is Monday and in Michigan, it’s next Wednesday.

A Clinton adviser told The New York Magazine the White House didn’t want her to challenge the election result because it was focused on a smooth transition. But that hasn’t stopped her allies from pushing the issue.

The most recent to push for an audit is the sister of Huma Abedin, Mrs Clinton’s close adviser, who posted on Facebook yesterday urging her followers to lobby the Justice Department to audit the November 8 vote.

“Call the DOJ…and tell them you want the votes audited,” she wrote. “Even if it’s busy, keep calling.”