A judge for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan ordered [text, PDF] Michigan to proceed with a presidential ballot recount early Monday morning. The recount was originally scheduled to start December 2 but was delayed due to objections [complaint, PDF] filed by President-elect Donald Trump [official website]. Although Trump’s objections were rejected by the Michigan State Board of Canvassers, there was a mandatory delay of 2 business days pursuant to Michigan state law before officials could begin the recount. Green Party candidate, Jill Stein [official website], sued the state on the grounds that the mandatory delay would have extended to four days due to the weekend which is about one-third the time allocated to complete the recount. The recount must be completed by the “safe harbor” date of December 13.

The disparity in the popular vote and those from the electoral college has raised concerns about the voting process. Stein is also continuing to press for a recount [JURIST report] in Pennsylvania by filing a suit [complaint, PDF] against election officials in federal court Monday. A recount in Wisconsin began last week at Stein’s request. Each individual Wisconsin county may decide [JURIST report] if they will use electronic or manual means to recount. The need for the electoral college was called into question [JURIST report] by US Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN) [official website]. In late November a lawyer for the Hillary Clinton campaign announced [JURIST report] support for the recount in Wisconsin and promised to look into allegations of voter fraud.