Only 35 completed statewide recounts since 2000

Only three of those 35 recounts overturned the election outcome

November 3, 2022 – A new FairVote report finds that election recounts rarely change the outcome of a race. Margins tend to be exceptionally close for a change in outcome to be plausible. 

In the 6,297 statewide general elections from 2000 through September 2022, there were 35 completed statewide recounts. Only three of those 35 recounts overturned the outcome of the race. In all three, the original margin of victory was less than 0.06%. 

 “In nearly 6,300 elections over the last 22 years, a recount has changed the outcome exactly three times — and the margin was well within 0.1% each of those three times,” said Deb Otis, FairVote’s Director of Research. “States should have a process in place for recounts to ensure voter trust and confidence in the event of extremely close outcomes. At the same time, we should recognize that calling for recounts when a change in outcome is completely implausible will only damage voter trust and confidence.” 

The authors of the report, which is produced by FairVote biannually, recommend that states automatically conduct statewide recounts up to a 0.1% margin as a best practice. 

They also note the troubling recent trend of recounts well outside the range where they could be considered consequential — including in this year’s Nevada Republican gubernatorial primary (11% margin) and Colorado Republican Secretary of State primary (14% margin), and for Kansas’s “No Constitutional Right to Abortion” ballot measure (19% margin). 

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FairVote is a nonpartisan organization seeking better elections for all. We research and advance voting reforms that make democracy more functional and representative for every American.