I just wrote a blog about a petition in circulation to have the 2016 presidential elections votes, audited (Demand An Audit Of The 2016 Presidential Election – Change.org).

It turns out that the 2016 democratic presidential nominee, Hillary is resisting requests for her to ask for a recount in 3 states based on data gathered by the director of the University of Michigan Center for Computer Security and Society who is claiming they’ve found persuasive evidence that results in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania may have been manipulated or hacked.

As per the 11/22/16 Independent, “Hillary Clinton’s lead in the US presidential election popular vote now stands at more than 1.7 million – despite the Democrat losing the overall election to Donald Trump. With the last remaining ballots being counted, Mrs Clinton so far has 63.6 million votes compared to 61.9 million for her Republican rival – meaning she has received more votes than any other US presidential candidate in history except Barack Obama.”

“The Republican won the Electoral College after taking the battleground states of Florida, Ohio and North Carolina and unexpectedly snatching victory in states, such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, that had previously been part of the Democrat’s “firewall” of safe states.”

“Mr Trump looks set to extend his lead further, with Michigan soon to declare its final result. The businessman is currently ahead in the previously-Democrat state, albeit only by a narrow margin of around 11,000 votes.”

At the end of the following article, there is a request for readers to contact the DOJ to demand this recount. 

The rest of the story…

On 11/22/16, Gabriel Sherman of New York Magazine penned a report, Experts Urge Clinton Campaign to Challenge Election Results in 3 Swing States.

Here is his report:

“Hillary Clinton is being urged by a group of prominent computer scientists and election lawyers to call for a recount in three swing states won by Donald Trump, New York has learned. The group, which includes voting-rights attorney John Bonifaz and J. Alex Halderman, the director of the University of Michigan Center for Computer Security and Society believes they’ve found persuasive evidence that results in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania may have been manipulated or hacked. The group is so far not speaking on the record about their findings and is focused on lobbying the Clinton team in private.”

“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.”

“The Clinton camp is running out of time to challenge the election. According to one of the activists, the deadline in Wisconsin to file for a recount is Friday; in Pennsylvania, it’s Monday; and Michigan is next Wednesday. Whether Clinton will call for a recount remains unclear. The academics so far have only a circumstantial case that would require not just a recount but a forensic audit of voting machines. Also complicating matters, a senior Clinton adviser said, is that the White House, focused on a smooth transfer of power, does not want Clinton to challenge the election result. Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri did not respond to a request for comment. But some Clinton allies are intent on pushing the issue. This afternoon, Huma Abedin’s sister Heba encouraged her Facebook followers to lobby the Justice Department to audit the 2016 vote. “Call the DOJ…and tell them you want the votes audited,” she wrote. “Even if it’s busy, keep calling.”

UPDATE 11/23/16: But FiveThirtyEight founder and statistician Nate Silver is countering the above data reported by the University of Michigan group based on his own statistical methods. He has tweeted his “quick analysis” detailing additional data controls that discounts the University of Michigan’s group’s assertions. Mr. Silver states that once you account for the voters’ race and level of education, the difference in statistics between electronic voting methods and paper votes is eliminated.

My thoughts on all of the above is that all the pundits, polling experts and statisticians were wrong on just about everything prior to the 11/8/16 voting date, and so I am not in a very trusting mood. Frankly, Nate Silver has had a horrible track record since 2008. And so, I am at the trust but verify stage. As long as I  cannot say with absolute certainty that our votes were not manipulated to result in a different outcome than what we intended, then I want the reassurance of a targeted voter recount/ audit.

NOTE: The following data is from the DOJ website:

Correspondence to the Department, including the Attorney General (Loretta Lynch), may be sent to:

U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

The Department may be contacted by phone at the following: Department Comment Line: 202-353-1555

• Department of Justice Main Switchboard: 202-514-2000
• TTY/ASCII/TDD: 800-877-8339 (or Federal IP Relay Service)
• Note: After I mailed a hand written letter to Loretta Lynch, Attorney General  on 11/23/16, I emailed the White House (president@whitehouse.gov) the following note:
• Dear President Barack Obama,
• I admire the way that you and your administration are following the intent of our U.S. Constitution by assuring the  President-elect Donald Trump a smooth transition process. You make all of us proud.
• But this objective towards a no drama transfer of power should not be at the expense of denying the public you serve of the reassurance that this year’s election process was not hijacked. We are at the trust but verification stage. We cannot say with absolute certainty that our votes were not manipulated to result in a different outcome than what we intended.
• Yes, it is unlikely, but as long as there is that possibility,  I am convinced that you cannot follow through in promising the President-elect Trump, a well managed transition without the public’s support.Too often, our wishes have been discounted for the sake of political expediency. Please don’t let our voices be snuffed out due to the need for a competent transfer of power when it is possible to also reassure us with a targeted vote recount.
• Remember that U.S. Constitution also refers to “We, the People, in order to form a more perfect union”…I am asking for you not to block Mrs. Hillary Clinton from requesting a recount of votes in about 3 states. Not only is there the possibility of Russia’s  interference with the U.S. election process, there is a  “group, which includes voting-rights attorney John Bonifaz and J. Alex Halderman, the director of the University of Michigan Center for Computer Security and Society that believe they’ve found persuasive evidence that results in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania may have been manipulated or hacked. The group is so far not speaking on the record about their findings and is focused on lobbying the Clinton team in private.”This information is based on 11/22/16 report by Gabriel Sherman of the New York Magazine, “Experts Urge Clinton Campaign to Challenge Election Results in 3 Swing States.”Thank you for considering our rights too.

  Sincerely, Onda (Gronda) Morin