You may have thought the election was officially over, but nothing’s certain until January 17. Recent reports from voting experts indicate possible fraud with the overall results in several key swing states. Now, some political figures are calling for an audit or recount in the Rust Belt.
In Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, the split between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton was very close. Although all three of those states ultimately went for Trump, attorney John Bonifaz and Professor J. Alex Halderman are not sure the results are accurate. Their analyses of voting records revealed that counties using electronic votes delivered 7 percent fewer ballots for Secretary Clinton than would have been expected. They estimate that 30,000 votes may have been improperly recorded. Halderman leads the Center for Computer Security and Society while Bonifaz is a noted defender of voting rights.
Not everyone agrees with these results. Statistical guru Nate Silver of fivethirtyeight.com is contesting the research, stating his analysis shows no anomalies once demographic factors from each county are controlled. Although he supported Secretary Clinton’s campaign, he is a fierce advocate of statistics and disagreed with many pollsters and analysts throughout election season.
As of now, the Clinton campaign has refused to comment. Given the volatile nature of the election season, Secretary Clinton and the Democratic Party likely want to avoid inflaming tensions and ensure a peaceful transfer of power. They have only a few days left to file official requests for an audit. Some of their surrogates are encouraging voters to contact the Department of Justice. Heba Abedin, sister of Clinton’s long-time top aide, is posting the DoJ’s number on her social media profile.
As Hillary Clinton’s popular vote lead approaches 2 million, her supporters are looking for any way possible to keep her campaign from dying completely. While some activists are encouraging members of the electoral college to not honor their state’s voting choices, it is unlikely that enough electoral voters will defect to Clinton’s side. If the campaign declines to request audits, there will be no other options than to accept a Trump presidency.