In the wake of Donald Trump’s seeming defeat of Hillary Clinton in the most recent United States presidential election, several renowned computer scientists have noted that there may have been some tampering with electronic voting machines by hackers. In response, Green Party candidate Jill Stein has, so far, raised over 4.5 million dollars for a recount of votes in the crucial states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Computer scientists at both the University of Michigan and the University of Florida, Gainesville have written about their concerns of possible fraud or machine error. In particular, some of the numbers in the Wisconsin race literally aren’t adding up. The presidential election rules in the United States are extremely complicated, but, put simply, Stein and her team have until December 13th to put together their recount and possible challenge to the results. Electors in the electoral college cast their votes on December 19th to finalize the actual voters’ choice of president.
Any any allegation or possibility of inaccurate voting results in an election of this magnitude must be taken seriously and investigated fully, so the importance of Stein’s work on this issue can not be understated. If any discrepancy is found from the original results in her recount, it could be a total game changer.
Because Clinton defeated Trump by approximately two million votes in the popular vote, it is clear that she is the choice for president by the majority of voters in the country, and perhaps this recount will lead to the conclusion that she is the winner in the electoral college as well. Currently, Trump leads in the electoral college by a mere 37 projected votes. In a race full of astonishing surprises, this recount could lead to the biggest one yet.