‘Money for recount not coming from Green Party supporters’

Many in the US Green Party are wondering from where the money for a vote recount is coming from, but clearly it is not coming from the party’s supporters, according to Myles Hoenig, an American political analyst and senior member of the Green Party.

Former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein submitted a recount request to Wisconsin authorities on Friday afternoon. Stein also planned to formally file for recounts with authorities in Michigan and Pennsylvania in the coming days.

Stein raised more than $5 million in two days to file for recounts in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, while her campaign could only raise $3.5 million for the November 8 presidential election.

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton narrowly lost these three states to Republican Donald Trump, the president-elect.  If Clinton had won all of these states’ 46 Electoral College votes, it would have been enough for her to win the White House.

Press TV asked Hoenig, a Green Party candidate for Congress, on Saturday whether Stein's vote recount effort could change the outcome of the election.

“The likelihood that a recount in the 2016 election would change the outcome is remote,” he stated.

“But that is not the primary reason that Jill Stein is pushing for it. Her argument is that it would ensure electoral integrity and protect future Green Party candidates in 2017 and 2018 as they run for office from being hacked, removed, disenfranchised or other attempts to prevent a challenge to the 2-party system,” he argued.

“She is using the Clinton/White House argument that there was Russian tampering going on, something that has not been verified or made public. It's a red herring. That being said, there are some things that need to be clarified,” the activist explained.

“First, this is not sanctioned by the Green Party. Their steering committee did not approve the Green Party being the recipient of the money, needing to open up an account. Jill Stein might be the perceived face of the party but as a candidate and nominee, she no more officially represents the party than neither Clinton nor Trump represent theirs,” he said.

“There is a schism within the party over this issue for many reasons and at this point it would be wise for the party to be an observer of this runaway train, rather than its conductor,” the analyst revealed.

Is it Soros's money?

“There is a question of where the money is coming from. In her entire campaign, she only raised $3.5 million but now she's on track to exceed $5 million,” the commentator stated.

“Clearly, this money is not coming from Green Party supporters but from Democrats and their big pocketed supporters. Some speculate that it's [American billionaire George] Soros's money, which is likely, but not confirmed. Either way, it is Democratic Party supporters that are pushing for this recount,” he noted.

“The other question is why these 3 states? These are states that Clinton lost and together would make up enough Electoral College votes to give her the lead if the recount goes in her favor,” he observed.  

“If there is a concern that the Green Party candidate may have lost votes due to hacking, the preferred strategy would be to have a recount in the states that Clinton won with a small margin, or in states where the Greens were expected to do a lot better than the outcome,” Hoenig concluded. 

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk