Under the banner of “Election Integrity,” the Green Party’s Jill Stein has raised $3 million to contest the election results in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. She has raised that money in 24hrs, an impressive feat, the capital needed to make a formal judicial request by this Friday (tomorrow) for the election results to be reviewed in each of the three jurisdictions. 

There is – potentially – much at stake. These three states have a combined total of forty-six electoral votes, which could put the election result into question, meaning the Democrat’s Hillary Clinton could be President-elect, and not Republican Donald Trump. Of Trump’s 306 Electoral Votes, he would be left with 260, which is ten votes shy of the 270 needed to win the presidency. 

Politically, it makes complete sense for Stein to be spearheading this movement. She is not attempting to help a fellow female candidate or the Democrats secure the White House over the Republicans. Rather, this would be fulfilling one of the planks in the Green Party’s platform. 

On her campaign webpage, Stein designs to “Empower the People” through “electoral reforms that break the big money stranglehold and create truly representative democracy: public campaign financing, ranked-choice voting, proportional representation, and open debates.” What a remarkable rambling diatribe. Somewhere in there is Stein’s reason for championing this last-minute judicial review (note to Stein camp: simply writing “electoral reform” as a plank would have sufficed).

Stein’s cause is perhaps noble, but it wreaks of political opportunity for the Green Party. Stein placed last in the presidential contest. Now she appears to be selflessly working for the American people to ensure the election result is accurate. A true patriot amid the scions of all-that-is-wrong-with-US-politics. In reality, Stein is working to make the Green Party’s lacklustre, blowhard platform shine with relevancy. 

Even if the reviews are allowed in each of the three jurisdictions, the chances of finding voter fraud or manipulation by a third party (Russia) on a grand enough scale to change the outcome in EACH jurisdiction is exceedingly low. And it must be all three, Pennsylvania (20), Michigan (16), and Wisconsin (10) to put President-elect Trump below the 270 Eletoral Vote threshhold.  It would be the Hail Mary of the century. Such reviews only feed the political troll that would have the audacity to cry, “the election is rigged.” Thus, a complete waste of everyone’s time and money, and an exercise in futility. 

Hillary Clinton lost the election to Donald Trump. Fair and square. Allow the Republicans to get on with governing and put an end to this absurd sideshow. Besides, the real show – that critics are billing as “even bigger and better” than the George W. Bush presidency – is just about to enter the main circus-ring.