DETROIT — A federal judge in Detroit is expected to rule on whether a recount of Michigan votes in November's presidential election can proceed immediately or if elections officials will have to wait two business days to get started hand-counting about 4.8 million ballots.

Judge Mark Goldsmith said his decision would come Sunday following a hearing in U.S. District Court.

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein requested a recount, but Republican President-elect Donald Trump sued elections officials to stop it.

Stein's lawyers argued that waiting until Wednesday to start a recount would cut too close to the Dec. 13 deadline to have it finished.

The Green Party also wants recounts in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton by 10,704 votes in Michigan. Stein received about 1 of the vote.</s>DETROIT — Michigan must begin its presidential recount at noon Monday, a federal judge ruled in a late-night order that could make it more likely the state will complete the count ahead of a Dec. 13 deadline.

In his ruling early Monday morning, Judge Mark Goldsmith rejected an effort by state officials to delay the hand-counting of about 4.8 million ballots.

Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein argued that a law is unconstitutional that requires a break of at least two business days after the Board of Canvassers’ final action on a recount request. Goldsmith found that Stein had “shown the likelihood of irreparable harm” if the count was delayed even by two days and rejected the state’s arguments about the cost to taxpayers.

Republican Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton by 10,704 votes, or two-tenths of a percentage point, in Michigan. Stein received about 1 percent of the vote.

Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette, the Trump campaign and super PACs have filed separate lawsuits asking state courts to prevent the recount, arguing that Stein, as the fourth-place finisher, is not “aggrieved” because she has no chance of winning in a recount.

The Green Party also wants recounts in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Stein has argued, without evidence, that irregularities in the votes in all three states suggest that there could have been tampering with the vote, perhaps through a well-coordinated, highly complex cyberattack.

Elections officials in the three states, all narrowly won by Trump, have expressed confidence in their results. Even if all three recounts happen, none were expected to give Clinton enough votes to emerge as the winner.</s>U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith early Monday morning issued an order for Michigan election officials to begin counting ballots starting at noon.

The ruling follows a request from Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein after a razor-thin margin made the state the last to be called in the November election. President-elect Donald Trump ended up winning Michigan's 16 electoral votes by just 0.2 percentage points, or just under 10,000 votes out of over 5.5 million cast.

"It is inexcusable for Stein to put Michigan voters at risk of paying millions and potentially losing their voice in the Electoral College in the process," Schuette said in a statement.

It is inexcusable for Stein to put MI votes at risk of paying millions and potentially losing their voice in the Elec College. — A.G. Bill Schuette (@SchuetteOnDuty) December 2, 2016 Stein has spearheaded a recount effort in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin -- three battleground states where Donald Trump narrowly defeated Hillary Clinton. Trump supporters in Wisconsin have unsuccessfully tried to stop the recount in progress there. Stein's campaign, who withdrew a recount request in a Pennsylvania state court, this weekend said she would instead file the lawsuit seeking a statewide recount in federal court Monday morning. Stein has raised nearly $7 million to fund the recount efforts, following news that security experts alerted Clinton's campaign to the possibility of hacks in key counties in those states. Stein is expected to speak at a "Recount Rally" taking place outside the Trump Tower at 10 a.m. Monday morning. At the news conference, she plans to offer an update on the recounts as part of her effort to "fight tooth and nail to verify the accuracy, security, and fairness of the vote," according a Facebook event</s>U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith early Monday morning issued an order for Michigan election officials to begin counting ballots starting at noon.

The ruling follows a request from Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein after a razor-thin margin made the state the last to be called in the November election. President-elect Donald Trump ended up winning Michigan's 16 electoral votes by just 0.2 percentage points, or just under 10,000 votes out of over 5.5 million cast.

"It is inexcusable for Stein to put Michigan voters at risk of paying millions and potentially losing their voice in the Electoral College in the process," Schuette said in a statement.

It is inexcusable for Stein to put MI votes at risk of paying millions and potentially losing their voice in the Elec College. — A.G. Bill Schuette (@SchuetteOnDuty) December 2, 2016 Stein has spearheaded a recount effort in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin -- three battleground states where Donald Trump narrowly defeated Hillary Clinton. Trump supporters in Wisconsin have unsuccessfully tried to stop the recount in progress there. Stein's campaign, who withdrew a recount request in a Pennsylvania state court, this weekend said she would instead file the lawsuit seeking a statewide recount in federal court Monday morning. Stein has raised nearly $7 million to fund the recount efforts, following news that security experts alerted Clinton's campaign to the possibility of hacks in key counties in those states. Stein is expected to speak at a "Recount Rally" taking place outside the Trump Tower at 10 a.m. Monday morning. At the news conference, she plans to offer an update on the recounts as part of her effort to "fight tooth and nail to verify the accuracy, security, and fairness of the vote," according a Facebook event</s>DETROIT (AP) — Michigan must begin its presidential recount at noon Monday, a federal judge ruled in a late-night order that could make it more likely the state will complete the count ahead of a Dec. 13 deadline.

In his ruling early Monday morning, Judge Mark Goldsmith rejected an effort by state officials to delay the hand-counting of about 4.8 million ballots.

Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein argued that a law is unconstitutional that requires a break of at least two business days after the Board of Canvassers’ final action on a recount request. Goldsmith found that Stein had “shown the likelihood of irreparable harm” if the count was delayed even by two days and rejected the state’s arguments about the cost to taxpayers.

Republican Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton by 10,704 votes, or two-tenths of a percentage point, in Michigan. Stein received about 1 percent of the vote.

Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette, the Trump campaign and super PACs have filed separate lawsuits asking state courts to prevent the recount, arguing that Stein, as the fourth-place finisher, is not “aggrieved” because she has no chance of winning in a recount.

The Green Party also wants recounts in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Stein has argued, without evidence, that irregularities in the votes in all three states suggest that there could have been tampering with the vote, perhaps through a well-coordinated, highly complex cyberattack.

Elections officials in the three states, all narrowly won by Trump, have expressed confidence in their results. Even if all three recounts happen, none were expected to give Clinton enough votes to emerge as the winner.</s>DETROIT (AP) Michigan must begin its presidential recount at noon Monday, a federal judge ruled in a late-night order that could make it more likely the state will complete the count ahead of next week’s deadline.

In his ruling Dec. 4, Judge Mark Goldsmith rejected an effort by state officials to delay the hand-counting of about 4.8 million ballots.

Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein argued that a law requiring a break of at least two business days is unconstitutional. Goldsmith found that Stein had “shown the likelihood of irreparable harm” if the count was delayed even by two days and rejected the state’s arguments about the cost to taxpayers.

Republican Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton by 10,704 votes, or two-tenths of a percentage point, in Michigan. Stein received about 1 percent of the vote.

Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette, the Trump campaign and super PACs have filed separate lawsuits asking state courts to prevent the recount, arguing that Stein, as the fourth-place finisher, is not “aggrieved” because she has no chance of winning in a recount.

The Green Party also wants recounts in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Stein has argued, without evidence, that irregularities in the votes in all three states suggest that there could have been tampering with the vote, perhaps through a well-coordinated, highly complex cyberattack.

Elections officials in the three states, all narrowly won by Trump, have expressed confidence in their results. Even if all three recounts happen, none were expected to give Clinton enough votes to emerge as the winner.</s>The Detroit Free Press reported on its website that U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith had issued the written order early on Monday after a Sunday night hearing in federal court.

Lawsuits have been filed in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, three "Rust Belt" states that bucked their history of supporting Democrats and handed Republican Donald Trump narrow wins in the Nov. 8 election that ultimately gave him victory over Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

The Green Party and its candidate, Jill Stein, have said their requests for recounts in those states were focused on ensuring the integrity of the U.S. voting system and not on changing the result of the election.

Goldsmith ordered that, once started, the recount "must continue until further order of this court," the Free Press reported. The recount, which will begin at noon on Monday, was ordered two days ahead of the two-day waiting period the state had planned to observe from Wednesday.</s>Michigan must begin its presidential recount at noon Monday, a federal judge ruled in a late-night order that could make it more likely the state will complete the count ahead of a Dec. 13 deadline.

In his ruling Sunday night, Judge Mark Goldsmith rejected an effort by state officials to delay the hand-counting of about 4.8 million ballots.

Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein argued that a law is unconstitutional that requires a break of at least two business days after the Board of Canvassers’ final action on a recount request. Goldsmith found that Stein had “shown the likelihood of irreparable harm” if the count was delayed even by two days and rejected the state’s arguments about the cost to taxpayers.

Republican Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton by 10,704 votes, or two-tenths of a percentage point, in Michigan. Stein received about 1 percent of the vote.

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Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette, the Trump campaign and super PACs have filed separate lawsuits asking state courts to prevent the recount, arguing that Stein, as the fourth-place finisher, is not “aggrieved” because she has no chance of winning in a recount.

The Green Party also wants recounts in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Stein has argued, without evidence, that irregularities in the votes in all three states suggest that there could have been tampering with the vote, perhaps through a well-coordinated, highly complex cyberattack.

Elections officials in the three states, all narrowly won by Trump, have expressed confidence in their results. Even if all three recounts happen, none were expected to give Clinton enough votes to emerge as the winner.

Associated Press</s>A judge has ordered a hand recount of Michigan’s presidential results to begin by noon Monday, and the Green Party is trying to force a federal court order for a statewide recount in Pennsylvania.

Green Party candidate Jill Stein is trying to force recounts in three states. The count is underway in Wisconsin. In Nevada, a partial recount of the race was requested by independent presidential candidate Roque De La Fuente.

Judge Mark Goldsmith issued his ruling early Monday that rejected an effort by Michigan state officials to wait two business days before starting to hand-count about 4.8 million ballots. The move increases the chances that the state could complete the count ahead of a Dec. 13 deadline.

Stein’s lawyers argued that waiting until Wednesday would cut it too close.</s>Michigan's recount of the state's presidential election results commenced at noon on Monday, following a late-night ruling by a federal judge.In a rare Sunday hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Goldsmith ruled in the favor of Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who requested the recount, allowing the massive effort to begin Monday instead of Wednesday.The jumpstart left Michigan clerks scrambling to hand-count some 4.8 million ballots by Dec. 13.Stein, who finished in fourth place with less than 1.1 percent of the vote, has requested recounts in key battleground states Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania amid concerns that the election could have been hacked . In Michigan, Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by just 10,704 votes — the most narrow margin for a presidential election in the state's history. (84,290 ballots did not have a recorded vote in the presidential election, an increase of 80 percent from 2012.)Attorney General Bill Schuette and other Michigan Republicans have attempted to stop the recount, calling recount a waste of taxpayer money. Trump has called Stein's effort "a scam" meant to fill the Green Party's coffers.But Goldsmith ruled in favor of Stein, writing "Without elections that are conducted fairly – and perceived to be fairly conducted – public confidence in our political institutions will swiftly erode.", the Stein campaign says it has recruited hundreds of volunteers to help in the recount effort. However, Southfield attorney Mark Brewer, who is representing the campaign in Michigan, admitted it was “highly doubtful” that the recount could be completed by the deadline.
A federal judge in Michigan, Mark A. Goldsmith, rules that a recount in the Presidential Election vote in that state must begin on Monday, December 5.