An Analysis of Statewide Election Recounts, 2000-2022
This report examines 22 years of statewide recounts in the United States, quantifies various aspects of statewide recounts, and makes recommendations for policymakers creating recount statutes.
Key findings include:
- Statewide recounts are rare. There were 34 recounts in this time period out of over 6,000 elections.
- Outcome reversals are even rarer. Recounts have resulted in only three reversals, or one out of every 2,099 statewide elections. All reversals occurred in races where the original margin of victory was less than 0.1%.
- Recounts tend to shift only a small number of votes. Statewide recounts resulted in an average margin shift of 570 votes between the frontrunner candidates, representing just 0.03% of the total votes in those elections.
- An upper threshold should be established for campaign-requested recounts in order to prevent frivolous recounts. The recent trend of recounts in races with no realistic possibility of an outcome reversal reveal a flaw in the current recount statutes in many states.
- Recount laws should go hand-in-hand with rigorous post-election audit procedures. While full recounts should be rare, post-election audits should be the norm.
The data from this report is available in this spreadsheet.
