Every close election brings the same question: will there be a recount? The answer depends almost entirely on which state the race is in. There is no federal recount law, even for races for Congress. Each state writes its own rules for when a recount happens, who pays for it and how it is carried out.
Automatic recounts
About half the states require an automatic recount when the margin between the top two candidates falls below a set threshold. The trigger varies:
- Some states use a percentage of the total vote, often between 0.1% and 0.5%.
- Some use a fixed number of votes.
- A few use different thresholds for machine recounts and hand recounts. Florida, for example, orders a machine recount at a margin of 0.5% or less and a manual review of overvotes and undervotes at 0.25% or less.
When a race falls inside the threshold, the recount happens without anyone asking for it, and the state usually covers the cost.
Requested recounts
Most states also let a losing candidate request a recount. Rules on who can ask, how close the race must be and who pays differ widely. In some states a candidate can request a recount at any margin but must pay for it unless the result changes. In others, requests are only allowed inside a narrow margin.
Some states also allow voters, not just candidates, to petition for a recount.
How the recount is done
A recount is not a new election. Officials re-tabulate ballots that were already cast and counted. Depending on the state, that can mean:
- Running paper ballots back through scanners.
- Hand-counting some or all paper ballots.
- Re-checking the math on tally sheets from each precinct.
Representatives of both campaigns can usually observe. Disputes over individual ballots — a stray mark, an unclear choice — are set aside and decided by election officials, a canvassing board or a court.
How often recounts change the result
Rarely. FairVote, a nonpartisan election-reform group, reviewed every statewide general election from 2000 through 2023 — 6,929 races in all. It found 36 statewide recounts in that period, and only three changed the winner:
- Washington governor, 2004. Republican Dino Rossi led after the first count; Democrat Christine Gregoire won after the recount.
- Vermont state auditor, 2006. Randy Brock led initially; Thomas Salmon won after the recount.
- Minnesota U.S. Senate, 2008. Republican Norm Coleman led on election night; Democrat Al Franken won by 312 votes after a recount and months of litigation.
Across all 36 recounts, the margin between the top two candidates moved by an average of 551 votes, about 0.03% of the votes cast. That is why recounts usually only matter in races decided by a few hundred votes or fewer.
What to watch on November 3
Expect at least a few House races, and possibly a Senate race, to land close enough for an automatic recount. If that happens, look up the specific state’s threshold and deadline before assuming what comes next — the rules in Pennsylvania are not the rules in Georgia or Arizona.
Sources
- FairVote, “An analysis of statewide election recounts, 2000–2023” (fairvote.org)
- National Conference of State Legislatures, “Election Recounts” (ncsl.org)
- Florida Statutes §102.141 and §102.166 (leg.state.fl.us)