Latest 2016 Popular Vote Election Results: Clinton Leads Trump By 2.6 Million, Margin Grows As Votes Continue To Be Counted

As Donald Trump selects cabinet members and prepares to take over the White House after a shocking win on Election Day, his former presidential opponent has seen the number of votes cast for her increasing by the millions across the country.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has garnered at least 65,527,625 votes in the 2016 presidential election, over 2.6 million more than the president-elect, who has received at least 62,851,436 votes, according to figures released Wednesday by The Cook Report, a nonpartisan election analysis organization. Clinton now has a margin of more than two percent of the popular vote majority than Trump, as states like Florida and California continue to submit ballots from primarily Democratic-held regions like Miami and Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, voters and third party candidates have been filing lawsuits and pushing for official recounts in states which may have had their election results compromised by foreign hacks on electronic voting machines. Other logistical issues at polling places could have deterred voters from casting their ballots on Election Day, they have said.

Former Green Party nominee Jill Stein has been spearheading recount efforts in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, three states which would have secured the White House for Clinton had she not lost them to Trump by small margins. Stein has consistently noted her push for recounts is not to reverse the results of the 2016 election, but instead “are part of an election integrity movement to attempt to shine a light on just how untrustworthy the U.S. election system is,” according to a statement on her fundraising site, which had raked in nearly $7.2 million by Thursday.

Voters in Florida pointed to alleged cyberattacks on the election and reported problems at polling places in a lawsuit demanding officials conduct a statewide recount, as well. Former Reform Party candidate Roque “Rocky” de la Fuente has vowed to push for recounts in Nevada and Florida in an effort to raise awareness about voting integrity, too.

Still, as Clinton’s popular vote count kept soaring above Trump’s and states throughout the nation begin the exhaustive process of hand-counting ballots, which began Monday in Wisconsin, the results of the election are unlikely to change. Clinton could easily secure at least three million more votes than Trump by the time all of the ballots have been counted. Yet, her Electoral College vote count will hold steady at 232 if recounts fail to reverse any state results in her favor. Trump is well over the 270-Electoral College threshold to assume the Oval Office with 306 votes.

A handful of “Faithless” or “Hamilton” electors, meanwhile, were urging their colleagues in the Electoral College to cast votes for another formidable Republican candidate instead of the president-elect. At least three electors have vowed to give their vote to another GOP leader, should they present themselves as ready to become the next president. The movement isn’t likely to sway a minimum of 36 electors to rescind their votes for Trump by the time the Electoral College convenes for its official vote on Dec. 19, however.

CORRECTION: An original version of this article incorrectly stated Hillary Clinton's 2016 popular vote total compared with President Barack Obama's vote total in 2008. Obama has the overall record for number of votes in a presidential election.