University of Michigan prof J Alex Halderman (previously) is one of America’s top experts on voting machine security (see this, for example), and he’s issued a joint statement with voting-rights attorney John Bonifaz to the Clinton campaign, advising them to ask for a recount of the Wisconsin votes.
Halderman and co say that there was a discrepancy of 7 percent fewer Clinton votes in electronic-machine-counted districts as compared with paper ballot/optical counter districts (Nate Silver disputes this analysis). The discrepancy could swing the state for Clinton. This would not give Clinton the presidency (not even if Michigan were to be called for the Democrats), but would still be a significant change in the perception of a Trump mandate.
In related news, a federal judge has ruled that the Republican state government of Wisconsin undertook an unconstitutional redistricting project in 2012/14 that gerrymandered the state for the GOP, so that the Dems’ 2012 popular vote of 51% only won them 39 of 99 seats, while the GOP’s 51% in 2014 got them 63 of 99 seats. The Wisconsin AG has vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court, and in any event, the district court judgment does not affect the 2016 vote.
The White House has reportedly asked Clinton not to challenge the Wisconsin, Michigan or Pennsylvania counts, because doing so could threaten the much-vaunted “smooth transfer of power.”
Last Thursday, the activists held a conference call with Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and campaign general counsel Marc Elias to make their case, according to a source briefed on the call. The academics presented findings showing that in Wisconsin, Clinton received 7 percent fewer votes in counties that relied on electronic-voting machines compared with counties that used optical scanners and paper ballots. Based on this statistical analysis, Clinton may have been denied as many as 30,000 votes; she lost Wisconsin by 27,000. While it’s important to note the group has not found proof of hacking or manipulation, they are arguing to the campaign that the suspicious pattern merits an independent review — especially in light of the fact that the Obama White House has accused the Russian government of hacking the Democratic National Committee.
Experts Urge Clinton Campaign to Challenge Election Results in 3 Swing States
[Gabriel Sherman/New York Magazine]
After All That, E-Voting Experts Suggest Voting Machines May Have Been Hacked For Trump
[Mike Masnick/Techdirt]
To follow: some *very* quick analysis which suggests the claim here of rigged results in Wisconsin is probably BS [@Natesilver538/Twitter]
Court says Republican gerrymandering in Wisconsin was unconstitutional
[Brendan O’Brien/Reuters]