Stein Gets Unusual Sunday Federal Court Hearing in New Michigan Lawsuit

A hearing is scheduled Sunday in U.S. District Court to decide when a recount of Michigan presidential election ballots can begin.

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein filed suit against state election officials in federal court in Detroit late Friday, the latest lawsuit about her request for a recount of Michigan’s presidential election vote.

Barring court intervention, as we reported Friday, the hand recount of the state’s 4.8 million presidential ballots could begin late Tuesday or early Wednesday. State Director of Elections Chris Thomas said Thomas said that under state election law, officials must wait two business days after ruling on Trump’s protest before starting the recount.

Michigan’s Board of State Canvassers deadlocked 2-2 Friday, on President-elect Donald Trump’s objection to Stein’s request for a recount of all presidential ballots cast in Michigan.

The Detroit Free Press reports that in her lawsuit filed Friday, Stein is seeking a court order to start the recount immediately and argues that delay is unreasonable and violates equal protection and due process rights guaranteed under the Constitution, “effectively denying the right to vote” if the recount is not completed in time to meet federal deadlines.

Both President-elect Donald Trump and Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette sued separately in state court to block the recount, with Schuette asking that his case be sent directly to the Michigan Supreme Court to expedite appeals. Those cases are pending.

The U.S. District Court announced late Saturday night that District Judge Mark Goldsmith would hear the case in a rare Sunday hearing at 10:30 a.m.

Stein received just over 1 percent of the vote in Michigan. No reasonable person expects the recount to change the outcome.

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