Don’t make it harder to force recounts

Do you recall the recount? Republicans in Madison do, and they want it to remain a distant memory. Some lawmakers are pushing legislation that would make it harder for losing candidates to force a recount after an election. You can probably thank Jill Stein for that. The Green Party candidate captured just one percent of the vote in Wisconsin, yet was able to force a recount of all of the presidential ballots cast in the state. It seemed trivial. After all, there was no way the recount was going to show Stein the winner. But state law allows losing candidates to force a recall, if they pay for the costs of doing so. That was more than a million dollars in Wisconsin. Stein raised the money, and paid the bill. It didn’t cost taxpayers a dime. Still, some want to make recounts harder, allowing only second place finishers, within one percent of the winner’s total. That would be a mistake. Recounts can restore faith in our system of voting, important especially after the last election with claims of rigging and illegal voting. If the state makes recalls harder, minority political parties, typically not a first or second place finisher, would be discriminated against. It may have seemed trivial to force a recount in the recent election, but Stein was in her right to do so, and other losing candidates should continue to have that same right.