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How To Donate To Jill Stein's Recount Fund

by Alex Gladu

A day after Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein launched a campaign to file for a vote recount in three states, she had reportedly reached her original fundraising goal. On Wednesday, Stein called on her supporters to donate at least $2 million to cover filing fees for recounts in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. By Thursday night, Stein had raised more than $4.3 million — but she insisted that there was more to do. Supporters can donate to Stein's vote recount fund online until at least Wednesday.

According to CNN, Stein surpassed her $2 million goal by Thursday morning. Originally, she had asked supporters to donate by Friday evening, hoping she could file for a recall in at least one of the three battleground states she was targeting. After reaching the goal ahead of time, though, Stein updated her goal to $4.5 million. According to the crowdfunding page that she is using to collect donations, the first wave of donations would be used to fund a recount request in Wisconsin.

Congratulations on meeting the recount costs for Wisconsin! Raising money to pay for the first round so quickly is a miraculous feat and a tribute to the power of grassroots organizing.

The additional donations that have continued to pour in throughout the day on Thursday would reportedly be used to fund recount requests in Michigan and Pennsylvania. In addition the filing fees, Stein hopes to raise enough money to cover attorneys' fees in all three states. "The total cost is likely to be $6-7 million," Stein's donation portal said.

As of Thursday night, she hadn't reached the $6 million threshold, but she had almost cleared her updated goal of $4.5 million. She may need to collect donations beyond her original Friday deadline to reach the $6 million total, but she has time. Pennsylvania's filing deadline is Monday, and Michigan's is Wednesday.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images News/Getty Images

In addition to the NationBuilder page set up for Stein's fundraising, supporters can also donate to the recount cause through at least two state Green Party organizations. The Ohio Green Party pledged Wednesday to support Stein's recount campaign, as did the Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party. Supporters of the recount initiative can donate on either of the state parties' websites to help Stein reach her fundraising goal.

The variety of online portals available for donating to the recount fund encourages supporters to go above and beyond the contribution limits that Stein's campaign must adhere to. Per her NationBuilder page, "You can donate up to $22,700 per person by contributing up to $2,700 on this page plus $10,000 to each of the following state Green Parties that have allowed contributions to kickstart the recount initiative." Stein has already garnered immense support for her initiative, but she may need some of those $22,000 donations to draw the almost $7 million she projects she'll need by next Wednesday.