# What if the recounts go Clinton's way? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 26, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087 "2016-11-26T21:31:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087/21 "2016-11-27T00:07:16Z")
Nor does it “screw the USA.” ---
**Author:** ![OriginalGangster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ea5d25/32.png) [@OriginalGangster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OriginalGangster)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087/22 "2016-11-27T00:26:27Z")
There’s a good chance the “recount” is there to take the pressure off the electors & for their safety. If the recount goes for Hillary & therefore reflects the popular vote, then it’s not their fault anymore, i.e. no one has any right to be mad at them. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087/23 "2016-11-27T00:30:29Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > You realize this totally screws up the transition of power? The premise of this OP is that we have established that the election was fraudulent, and you think that recounting the votes to ensure that such a false election is stopped is what screws up the transition of power? ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087/24 "2016-11-27T00:35:52Z")
Hillary wouldn’t need to do a transition thing. She could just ask all the Obama appointees to stay on and replace them one at a time. (In the unlikely event, etc etc.) ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087/25 "2016-11-27T00:37:21Z")
The premise in the OP is not going to happen, but if it did, I imagine there’d be lots of violence, assassinations, and blood in the streets. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087/26 "2016-11-27T00:43:56Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > The premise of this OP is that we have established that the election was fraudulent, and you think that recounting the votes to ensure that such a false election is stopped is what screws up the transition of power? Even Hillary’s lawyers think this is bs. They’ve already searched for any sign of fraud and found none. There’s no reason to expect a recount to shift the state wide results very significantly. > **[Listening and Responding To Calls for an Audit and Recount](https://medium.com/@marceelias/listening-and-responding-to-calls-for-an-audit-and-recount-2a904717ea39#.8kvoeaebv)** > > Over the last few days, officials in the Clinton campaign have received hundreds of messages, emails, and calls urging us to do something… Anyhow, if they want to waste 5 million for a recount in Wisconsin then go for it. [https://www.google.com/amp/mobile.nytimes.com/2016/11/26/us/politics/clinton-camp-will-join-push-for-wisconsin-ballot-recount.amp.html%3F0p19G%3De?client=ms-android-motorola](https://www.google.com/amp/mobile.nytimes.com/2016/11/26/us/politics/clinton-camp-will-join-push-for-wisconsin-ballot-recount.amp.html%3F0p19G%3De?client=ms-android-motorola) > [@](#): > > In his post, Mr. Elias sounded less enthusiastic than the recount’s many supporters. “Because we had not uncovered any actionable evidence of hacking or outside attempts to alter the voting technology,” he wrote, “we had not planned to exercise this option ourselves.” ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087/27 "2016-11-27T00:49:43Z")
For the Republicans, this election was _manna_ from Hell. They’ve got lawyers guns and money and they aren’t going to give this up. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087/28 "2016-11-27T00:51:46Z")
If the results of three states (or even 1) were shown to be fraudulent - well, it wouldn’t be good. Not just on the Trump side, but I know I would be have my confidence deeply shaken in our process and national security. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087/29 "2016-11-27T00:57:58Z")
I feel much better after reading Marc Elias’ post. The Clinton campaign’s chief counsel. They been checking the election results very closely. His post is the most rational voice I’ve heard. It’s reassuring to know there shouldn’t be any huge surprises waiting in a recount. The nasty, commie Russians didn’t steal the election for Trump. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087/30 "2016-11-27T01:12:05Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > There’s no reason to expect a recount to shift the state wide results very significantly. Who cares? I just want to know if the election was hacked in any way, shape or form. Whether or not this substantially shifted the election is irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087/31 "2016-11-27T01:28:12Z")
\*[“The only way to know whether a cyberattack changed the result is to closely examine the available physical evidence — paper ballots and voting equipment in critical states," wrote J. Alex Halderman, a computer science professor at the University of Michigan, in a post on [Medium.com](http://Medium.com). The deadline for asking for recounts was Friday in Wisconsin, Monday next week in Pennsylvania, and Wednesday in Michigan, he noted. “Whether voting machines are connected to the Internet is irrelevant,” Halderman wrote in a submission in support of Stein. As demonstrated by him in the laboratory in just a few seconds, anyone can install vote-stealing malware on a voting machine that silently alters the electronic record of every vote, he added.]([Wisconsin to recount US presidential election vote after hack concerns | PCWorld](http://www.pcworld.com/article/3144460/security/wisconsin-to-recount-us-presidential-election-vote-after-hack-concerns.html))\* If interference occurred, we need to know. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087/32 "2016-11-27T01:29:48Z")
Given the nature of many Trump supporters, and the heightened-tension nature of this election, and the public distrust of “the system”…Oh boy, there’d be violence. But then this gets us into the potential 2000 quagmire: Who’s recounts are the ones to count? Whenever a recount goes Hillary’s way, the Trump camp could say, “We demand another one.” And then if that one goes Trump’s way, the Hillary camp could say, “Nuh-uh. We demand another one.” At what point does it end? Whose results are valid? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087/33 "2016-11-27T02:27:15Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > \*[“The only way to know whether a cyberattack changed the result is to closely examine the available physical evidence — paper ballots and voting equipment in critical states," wrote J. Alex Halderman, a computer science professor at the University of Michigan, in a post on [Medium.com](http://Medium.com). The deadline for asking for recounts was Friday in Wisconsin, Monday next week in Pennsylvania, and Wednesday in Michigan, he noted. > > “Whether voting machines are connected to the Internet is irrelevant,” Halderman wrote in a submission in support of Stein. As demonstrated by him in the laboratory in just a few seconds, anyone can install vote-stealing malware on a voting machine that silently alters the electronic record of every vote, he added.]([Wisconsin to recount US presidential election vote after hack concerns | PCWorld](http://www.pcworld.com/article/3144460/security/wisconsin-to-recount-us-presidential-election-vote-after-hack-concerns.html))\* > > If interference occurred, we need to know. Read your link. It’s to PC World by your quoted link. If that’s true, then the voting machines are less protected than your average smart phone. I suppose that’s possible. But I really, really doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087/34 "2016-11-27T02:34:47Z")
Do NFL coaches whine when a pass reception is taken away by replay? No. If the second look is conclusive then it stands. They don’t say “WAAAAAAHHHHHHH! We get to keep the first call!” So if the recount goes Hillary’s way, that’s what counts. We don’t say, “Sure, count them again but if it gives a different answer, fuck it!” ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087/35 "2016-11-27T02:41:12Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Read your link. It’s to PC World by your quoted link. If that’s true, then the voting machines are less protected than your average smart phone. I suppose that’s possible. But I really, really doubt it. Yes, it’s to PC World, and it quotes the professor of computer science at University of Michigan who has explicitly said that even if it is not connected to the Internet, it can still be compromised. ETA: Here is another article with the same professor, where he says it probably was NOT hacked, but that it needs to be checked, because it can be done. So the voting machines are not some tower of security. > **[Halderman: The presidential election was 'probably not' hacked — but the...](https://www.businessinsider.com/halderman-us-election-probably-not-hacked-clinton-trump-stein-2016-11)** > > Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has raised $2.7 million for a recount after alleged irregularities in swing states. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087/36 "2016-11-27T02:50:39Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > Yes, it’s to PC World, and it quotes the professor of computer science at University of Michigan who has explicitly said that even if it is not connected to the Internet, it can still be compromised. > > ETA: Here is another article with the same professor, where he says it probably was NOT hacked, but that it needs to be checked, because it can be done. So the voting machines are not some tower of security. > > [Prof. Halderman: US Election 'Probably Not' Hacked, but We Won't Know Unless We Check - Business Insider](http://www.businessinsider.com/halderman-us-election-probably-not-hacked-clinton-trump-stein-2016-11) And here is his post where he discusses the very real vulnerability of the voting machines. It has links to papers and studies discussing some of the potential threat to the system and devices. > **[Want to Know if the Election was Hacked? Look at the Ballots](https://medium.com/@jhalderm/want-to-know-if-the-election-was-hacked-look-at-the-ballots-c61a6113b0ba#.elkqq31od)** > > You may have read at NYMag that I’ve been in discussions with the Clinton campaign about whether it might wish to seek recounts in critical… It’s quite interesting - the voting machines are loaded with the ballot design from regular old computers prior to Voting Day, and unless the source machines are very, VERY secure, it introduces a vector for tampering. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087/37 "2016-11-27T02:54:06Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Do NFL coaches whine when a pass reception is taken away by replay? No. If the second look is conclusive then it stands. They don’t say “WAAAAAAHHHHHHH! We get to keep the first call!” So if the recount goes Hillary’s way, that’s what counts. We don’t say, “Sure, count them again but if it gives a different answer, fuck it!” Except that recounts can produce a different outcome each time, if the margin is truly razor-thin. IIRC, after 2000, a hand recount had Gore winning Florida by 300+ but other recounts preserved a Bush win. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087/38 "2016-11-27T02:58:06Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > So we should worry less about an accurate vote count than we should about having a smooth transition? Your concern seems a trifle over-heated. > > I believe that President Obama would have no problem at all switching his attention to a Clinton transition team; also that the Clinton team already had much more firm plans than Trump’s did, and so would hit the ground running. There is about one month between the EC vote and inauguration, and for Clinton that would be plenty. Sheeit. Clinton could, in one week, manage a smoother transition than Trump is going to manage given nearly three months. Don’t forget that whatever else you think about them, Clinton was the competent one in this race. ---
**Author:** ![Crisstti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@Crisstti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crisstti)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087/39 "2016-11-27T06:07:53Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Read your link. It’s to PC World by your quoted link. If that’s true, then the voting machines are less protected than your average smart phone. I suppose that’s possible. But I really, really doubt it. Why not just stick to paper ballots then. No posible hacking there. ---
**Author:** ![ultimate11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/49beb7/32.png) [@ultimate11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultimate11)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087/40 "2016-11-27T06:46:29Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Assorted recounts are in the works. What if they go Clinton’s way and hand her the Presidency? Outside the US I expect there will be huge - no, huuuuge 🙂 - sighs of relief but what about inside the US? Outside the US, the EU, Cuba, and Iran are going to be happy. Russia will be infuriated though, and there will be no chance for peace between the both of us. Inside the US, the alt-right’s going to flip out. I can’t picture how, I’d imagine some small protests compared to the larger protests after the election, but mostly a fizzle. If any of the recounting states confirms Trump won, we can stop worrying about this election, can’t we? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-recounts-go-clintons-way/773087.md?page=3)