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An election recount is a repeat tabulation of votes cast in an
election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
that is used to determine the correctness of an initial count. Recounts will often take place if the initial vote tally during an election is extremely close. Election recounts will often result in changes in contest tallies. Errors can be found or introduced from
human factors Ergonomics, also known as human factors or human factors engineering (HFE), is the application of psychological and physiological principles to the engineering and design of products, processes, and systems. Primary goals of human factors eng ...
, such as transcription errors, or machine errors, such as misreads of paper ballots.


Australia

Australian elections use
instant-runoff voting Instant-runoff voting (IRV; ranked-choice voting (RCV), preferential voting, alternative vote) is a single-winner ranked voting election system where Sequential loser method, one or more eliminations are used to simulate Runoff (election), ...
and
single transferable vote The single transferable vote (STV) or proportional-ranked choice voting (P-RCV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which each voter casts a single vote in the form of a ranked ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vot ...
at the federal level to determine representatives for the House of Representatives and the Senate respectively. Tabulating votes for both houses involves automatic recounts known as "fresh scrutiny." For the House, this process occurs the Monday after a general election. The process in the Senate occurs shortly after the election, but only first preferences are recounted. A voter's full preferences for the Senate are not counted until after fresh scrutiny occurs. Candidates for either house may also request recounts, though such a request may be refused by the Electoral Commission. Similar processes occur at the state and territorial level. As in federal elections, candidates may request recounts subject to the discretion of electoral authorities.


Canada

Recounts in Canadian elections are known as "judicial recounts" because a superior court judge oversees them. In federal elections, tied elections or races with a difference of 0.1% result in automatic recounts. Electors (including candidates) may also petition for recounts within four days of the final vote count under certain conditions. Each province and territory has its own regulations regarding provincial or territorial elections.


Ireland

In Irish presidential elections, recounts occur only at the approval of the High Court. Candidates or the Director of Public Prosecutions may petition for a recount within seven days of the election. In the event of a recount, the High Court's decision is final. An identical process is available for elections to the
Oireachtas The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...
.


New Zealand

New Zealand uses a
mixed-member proportional representation Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a type of representation provided by some mixed electoral system, mixed electoral systems which combine local Winner-take-all system, winner-take-all elections with a Compensation (el ...
system for elections to its Parliament. As in Australia, an official count takes place shortly after the election day involving a recount of all of the ballots in electorates. Judicial recounts are also available in electorate and party list races. No threshold is needed for a recount to occur.


Singapore

Elections in Singapore are determined through a
First-past-the-post voting First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...
, with the candidate receiving the most votes being declared candidate-elect (or in the case of Group Representation Constituencies, a team of candidates-elect via
General ticket The general ticket or party block voting (PBV), is a type of block voting in which voters opt for a party or a team of candidates, and the highest-polling party/team becomes the winner and receives 100% of the seats for this multi-member distric ...
, disregarding the number of divisions won). In all cases, recounts are overseen by the Returning officer, and it is automatically triggered whenever the margin of difference is within 2% (valid local votes only, excluding spoilt or tendered votes). Prior to the 2020 election, candidates are only allowed only one application for a recount. While Singapore adopts
Non-resident citizen voting Non-resident citizen voting is citizens voting in elections according to their citizenship while not residing in the country of the election. As of 2020 a total of 141 countries grant non-residents such as emigrants or expatriates the right to non ...
, if a recount of votes resulted in a margin that would involve overseas votes (where the difference is within the total overseas electorate), the overseas votes would apply. In typical cases, recounts are not applied for overseas votes if results are already declared.


United States

In the United States recounts rarely reverse election results. Of the 4,687 statewide general elections held from 2000 to 2015, 27 were followed by a recount, and only three resulted in a change of outcome from the original count: 2004 Washington gubernatorial election, 2006 Vermont Auditor of Accounts election, and 2008 United States Senate election in Minnesota. Recounts are conducted at the state level rather than the federal level, even for federal offices.


Recount methods


Machine recount

A machine recount is a retabulation of ballots cast during the election. This can be done using an optical scan voting system,
punched card A punched card (also punch card or punched-card) is a stiff paper-based medium used to store digital information via the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions. Developed over the 18th to 20th centuries, punched cards were widel ...
system or direct-recording electronic (DRE) voting machine. With document-based Ballot Voting Systems, ballots are counted a second time by some form of
machine A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromol ...
. With Non-document-based Ballot Voting Systems officials will recollect vote data from each voting machine which will be combined by a central tabulation system.


Manual recount

A manual or "hand" recount involves each individual physical representation of voter intent being reviewed for voter intent by one or more individuals. With DRE voting machines, a voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) is examined from each voter. For some DREs that do not generate a VVPAT, images can be printed for each ballot cast and counted individually.


Legal requirements

Recounts can be mandatory or optional. In some jurisdictions, recounts are mandatory in the event the difference between the top two candidates is less than a percentage of votes cast or of a fixed number. Mandatory recounts are paid for by the elections official, or the state. Mandatory recounts can usually be waived by the apparent losing candidate. The winning side will usually encourage the loser to waive the recount in a show of unity and to avoid spending taxpayer money. Each jurisdiction has different criteria for optional recounts. Some areas permit recounts for any office or measure, while others require that the margin of victory be less than a certain percentage before a recount is allowed. In all instances, optional recounts are paid for by the candidate, their political party, or, in some instances, by any interested voter. The person paying for the recount has the option to stop the recount at any time. If the recount reverses the election, the jurisdiction will then pay for the recount. Source:


Notable recounts

* Florida election recount - 2000 U.S. presidential election * Washington gubernatorial election, 2004 * Vermont Auditor of Accounts election, 2006 * United States House of Representatives elections in Florida, 2006#District 13 - Florida's 13th congressional district * United States Senate election in Minnesota, 2008 * Virginia Attorney General election, 2013 * 2016 United States presidential election recounts * 2018 United States Senate election in Florida * 2020 United States presidential election in Georgia


United Kingdom

More than one recount is allowed if a candidate or their agent requests one and the returning officer deems it appropriate. It is possible for a defeated candidate denied a recount by the Returning Officer, to request one from the court by means of an election petition. There are several cases where a Parliamentary election has been the subject of a court-ordered recount.


See also

* Risk-limiting audit *
Electoral fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share o ...


External links


NCSL list of recount rulesCitizens for Election Integrity Recount Laws DatabaseThe count: Fresh scrutiny
- YouTube video from the
Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management and oversight of Australian federal elections, plebiscites, referendums and some trade union A ...


References

{{reflist Elections Vote counting