Jill Stein Campaign Raising Money For Wisconsin Recount

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein is raising money for a recount of Nov. 8’s election results in Wisconsin.

Stein, who won one percent of the vote in Wisconsin, began fundraising for a recount on Wednesday. She has until 5 p.m. on Friday to file an official request with the state Elections Commission.

“This is a bit of uncharted territory,” said Mike Haas, administrator of the commission.

State law allows any candidate on the ballot to request a recount, but if the margin is more than 0.25 percent, the candidate must pay for its cost.

Haas said the recount would cost at least $500,000.

The commission is reviewing state law to determine when that money would be due.

“There’s a little bit of ambiguity in the statutes,” Haas said. “In one place, it states that the fee must be paid at the time the petition is filed, another statute indicates once the petition is filed, that’s when our agency calculates an estimate.”

Once a recount order is issued by the commission, clerks across the state have 13 days to complete it, Haas said.

Stein’s campaign is also fundraising for recounts in Michigan and Pennsylvania. As of mid-afternoon on Wednesday, her campaign reported raising more than $200,000.

Stein’s move comes as some Democrats are urging Hillary Clinton to seek recounts.