Why are recounts conducted?

With extensive safeguards in place throughout the election, voters can be confident that votes are counted accurately. In the rare instances where there are credible reasons to question the results of the vote count in a specific contest—such as a narrow race margin—a recount may be required or requested. Historically, it has been very rare for recounts to change election outcomes.

In some states, recounts are automatically triggered if the difference in votes between two candidates is very small. The threshold to trigger a recount varies by state but is most commonly a margin of 0.5% between the candidates in the final result. Recounts may also be requested by voters, candidates, or political parties in most states. Some of these states only allow a recount to be requested if the race margin meets a certain threshold. If a recount is requested, the requestor must provide clear evidence that a recount is warranted and may be required to pay for the recount if it does not change the result.

During a recount, officials must count every vote cast in a specific contest again, either by machine or by hand. In a machine recount, ballot counting machines are tested for logic and accuracy before ballots are run through the machines again. In a hand recount, officials must manually count each paper ballot. Because a hand recount is a manual process, it typically requires more labor, time, and money than a machine recount. Hand counts often must be repeated multiple times to get reliable, consistent results.

Recounts typically take place after results have been certified. States have different procedures for what to do if the results of a recount are different from the certified election results. In some states, the recount automatically replaces the previous results. In other states, a court must decide the issue.

For additional information:

• Center for Election Innovation & Research, “What Happens After We Vote”
• FairVote, “An analysis of statewide election recounts, 2000-2023”
• National Conference of State Legislatures, “Election Recounts”
• Verified Voting, “Recount Law Database”