All About Recounts

“I demand a recount!” was splashed all over headlines during the 2000 Presidential election between Al Gore and George W. Bush. 20 years later, President Trump and his administration demanded the same following the official calling of Joe Biden as the nation’s president elect. How often do recounts happen? Can they change the outcome of an election? Are recount laws the same in every state? Today we dive into recounts and how much (or how little) they affect the final results of an election.

Before a recount is an option, it’s a good starting point to understand the basic steps for counting votes which is the same process in every state. The first step is for election officials to verify voter eligibility through the requirements on mail-in ballots or while checking in voters at the polling stations. Once all the ballots are cast, they are counted and the unofficial results are announced to the public. Election results then go through the processes of canvassing and certification. Canvassing is how state and local officials confirm the validity of ballots. The results from canvassing are then used when election officials certify the final election results.

What is a recount?

A recount is an official process in which votes cast in an election are re-tabulated to confirm the accuracy of the final results. Election recounts can occur from local to state to the presidential level. In the case of presidential elections, the recounts must be done at the state level.

Why and how do recounts happen?

Recounts can occur either automatically or by request from the voters or a candidate (usually the one who lost) in the cases of potential administrative errors, election fraud, or a close race.

The U.S. election administration is reported to be an underfunded program which can result in administrative errors due to lack of resources, equipment malfunctions, and long processing times. After the COVID-19 pandemic hit, election officials appealed to Congress for assistance. States received $400 million in funding which was significant enough to help expand voting options and prepare for the unprecedented changes in election processes. Despite the doubts about election security, the Brennan Center for Justice reported that voter fraud is very rare and U.S. elections have gotten more secure in the last 4 years. When it comes to close races, states require a close vote margin — either a percentage or number of votes — to initiate a recount.

Do recount laws differ from state to state?

They sure do! As of November 2020, eighteen states have at least one law that triggers an automatic recount if the results are within a close vote margin. Five states have a law that will require an automatic recount in the event of a tie while four states require automatic recounts in cases of any discrepancies.

For requested recounts, forty three states including Washington D.C. have laws that allow losing candidates, voters, or other concerned parties to petition for a recount. Meanwhile some states allow for a requested recount within a certain margin of votes with other states permit requested recounts only for ballot measures and not candidate races.

Are recounts common?

Not as much as you’d think. FairVote conducted a study between 2000–2015 of 4,687 statewide general elections. There were only 27 statewide recounts and 15 (only. 58% of statewide elections!) were considered “consequential.” FairVote found the same within subcategories in statewide elections with only 3 consequential recounts out of 808 elections for the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and treasurer. Outcome reversals are even less likely to happen than recounts. The study reported only 3 reversals out of 15 consequential recounts.