Update: The statewide recount effort has officially ended, following a decision in federal court Wednesday.

Some have labeled it democracy in action — while others have called it a waste of time and money.

In spite of the controversy, Cass County officials kicked off the recount of local ballots cast in November’s presidential election Wednesday morning. Around 30 people participated in the effort at the Dowagiac campus of Southwestern Michigan College, sharing space with officials from St. Joseph County, who also began recounting their ballots that morning.

Working in teams of two, the people performing the recount — comprised of local election workers and clerks — went through ballots cast in each of Cass County’s 24 voting precincts, sorting and counting them by hand.

The process was going smoothly Wednesday morning, with only one precinct’s ballots unable to be recounted due to differences between the number of ballots counted by officials Wednesday and that recorded as cast during November’s election, said Cass County Clerk/Register Monica Kennedy. The clerk expected the project to be completed by that evening.

The recount in Cass County is one of 83 occurring across Michigan, following a petition by Jill Stein, the Green Party presidential candidate. In spite of receiving around 1 percent of the state’s vote in November, Stein has requested a recount in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — three crucial electoral college swing states won by President-elect Donald Trump — in order to test the integrity of the states’ voting systems.

While the recount process began in several Michigan counties Monday, following a court order by a federal judge, Stein’s request has continued to face opposition from several factions, including from lawyers representing Trump, members of the Michigan GOP and state Attorney General Bill Schuette. Both federal and Michigan judges have weighed in on the issue over the last several days, with the state court of appeals siding against Stein’s petition and federal judges supporting it.

Among those stopping by the Cass County recount effort Wednesday was Prosecutor Victor Fitz, who is serving as a volunteer attorney with the state Republican Party. Like many of his party members, Fitz is opposed to the ongoing effort, given the estimated millions it will cost to complete.

“I just walked out of Jill Stein’s money pit — there are 83 of them across the state,” Fitz said. “It is a travesty that, in a time where Michigan has real problems like the water situation in Flint, someone would so selfishly spend millions of taxpayers’ dollars for her own self aggrandizement. This is something both Democrats and Republicans should join together to denounce.”

Fitz supported the state court of appeal’s decision to reject the recount process, saying it is a state’s right issue. He also criticized Stein and her campaign’s decision to pursue the recount in the process, saying the recount will not make a difference in the results recorded on
Election Day.

“This recount is being paid by people trying to put bread on the table, to support their children,” he said. “Meanwhile Jill Stein is just smiling on TV, enjoying her moment in the sun. But she is casting a financial pale on Michigan.”

Cathy LaPointe, chair of the Cass County Democrats, said she supports the recount.

“I think this is an exercise in democracy,” LaPointe said. “Clinton won the popular vote by 2.7 million votes, and when you have a 10,000 vote difference between the two candidates in one state, you should do a recount. We are glad Stein did this.”

LaPointe was one of several members of the party at the college Wednesday serving as challengers, meaning they could dispute whether or not a ballot should be rewarded to a particular candidate.

The party chair said there are reasons to verify the accuracy of the election in Michigan, especially given the suspected hacking of the DNC by Russian operatives earlier this year, she said.

LaPointe felt that attempts to block the recount by members of the Republican Party were ironic, given that Trump said he may not immediately accept the results of the election in the weeks leading up to Election Day, she said.

“I just do not understand that,” she said. “He [Trump] would have demanded this in a second if the situation was reversed.”

Results from Wednesday’s recount will be posted on the Michigan Secretary of State website, at michigan.gov/sos.