Judge halts recount effort

Mere hours after St. Joseph County concluded its recount of Nov. 8 presidential ballots, a federal judge ordered further recounts in Michigan and other states be suspended or not proceed.
The decision, made late Wednesday, came after St. Joseph County Clerk Lindsay Oswald and a team of 24 people concluded a recount of more than 24,000 ballots.
The procedure, which took place at Southwestern Michigan College in Cass County, went smoother than expected and yielded no surprises.
The recount was done at the request of Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein. Oswald said the recount yielded one additional vote for Stein. The biggest discrepancy uncovered as a result of the recount was five fewer votes for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, Oswald said, noting Cass County’s recount showed number differentials consistent with St. Joseph County’s.