Donald Trump officially wins US state of Michigan…but demand for recount by Jill Stein STILL likely to happen
DONALD Trump has officially be declared the winner of the US state of Michigan - but it looks likely there will still be a demand for a recount.
The Board of State Canvassers certified the billionaire President-Elect's 10,704-vote victory on Monday.
It comes in nearly three weeks after the American Presidential election took place.
he won by just two-tenths of the percentage point margin, out of nearly 4.8 million votes.
It is the closest presidential race in Michigan in more than 75 years.
Trump's win in Michigan means the Republicans have 306 electoral votes to Democrat Hillary Clinton's 232.
However, it is thought Green Party Presidential candidate Jill Stein will still ask for a recount, which she needs to do by Wednesday.
Trump would then have seven days to file an objections to the request.
Stein filed a request for a recount in Wisconsin after the president-elect won by fewer than 30,000 votes out of three million ballots cast.
There were fears Russian hackers tampered with the US election result.
The re-count is expected to begin later next week and will be funded by money Stein raised.
Talking about the recount, the President-elect Trump said: "This is a scam by the Green Party for an election that has already been conceded, and the results of this election should be respected instead of being challenged and abused, which is exactly what Jill Stein is doing.
"This recount is just a way for Jill Stein, who received less than one percent of the vote overall and wasn't even on the ballot in many states, to fill her coffers with money, most of which she will never even spend on this ridiculous recount."
In contrast, Marc Elias, lawyer for the Clinton campaign said : "Now that a recount has been initiated in Wisconsin, we intend to participate in order to ensure the process proceeds in a manner that is fair to all sides."
Even if Hillary Clinton is found to have won in Wisconsin, the ten seats it offers would still not be enough to hand her victory.
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But additional wins in Michigan and Pennsylvania - whose vote totals Stein also wants re-examined - would be enough to see Clinton take the White House.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission tweeted: "The Commission has received the Stein and Del La Fuente recount petitions."
Stein has already raised enough money to fund recounts in both Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
The defeated Green Party nominee believes along with a group of academics and cybersecurity experts that the integrity of automated voting processes in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania may have been compromised by Russian hackers.
But could a recount change the result of the election in Hillary Clinton's favour?
Could Donald Trump end up losing the election?
Yes. If an investigation reveals voting figures were incorrect -- possibly due to hacked automated ballot machines -- and a recount reveals that Clinton won these states, she will be President.
The result as it stands has Donald Trump as the victor with 306 Electoral College votes to Hillary Clinton's 232.
Wisconsin represents 10 Electoral College votes, while Pennsylvania represents 20 and Michigan -- which is yet to officially declare its result but based on current voting figures has come out for Trump -- represents 16.
If these 46 votes are shifted to Clinton, she would win with 278 Electoral College votes to Trump's 260.
How close are the margins in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania?
The reason that it is conceivable for Trump to lose the election is because in these key states the vote was incredibly tight.
Wisconsin has Trump's victory with just a 0.7 per cent margin, in Pennsylvania he was the victor by 1.2 per cent and in Michigan the gap is a wafer thin 0.3 per cent.
It means a swing of votes numbering just the tens of thousands would be enough to change the result of the election entirely.
The sister of Huma Abedin, Clinton's close aide, said on Facebook: "A shift of just 55,000 Trump votes to Hillary in PA, MI & WI is all that is needed to win".
What have the experts said?
Over 100 scholars and cybersecurity experts signed an open letter to Congress voicing concerns that Russian hackers may have had a hand in the election.
"We emphasize that nothing in our collective call for an investigation is meant to question the outcome of the November election", they said, however just such an investigation could lead to a recount that may see Trump lose.
"We simply know that turning a blind eye to such involvement would send a global green light to hackers and others intent on undermining our democratic institutions", they continued.
However, polling expert Nate Silver dismissed a theory that suggested Trump won by disconcerting amounts in Wisconsin counties that used electronic voting, describing it as "BS".
What happens now?
Stein needs to raise around $7 million dollars to fund challenges in the three key states.
The deadline for her to announce her challenge in Wisconsin is before midnight on Friday 25 November.
The deadline in Pennsylvania is on Monday 28 November, while in Michigan it is Wednesday 30 November.
She is raising money to pay for the recounts .
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