How key swing states handle recounts and certify election
results
How key swing states handle recounts and certify election
results
It’s clear that Joe Biden won the presidential race. But the
specific results aren’t final yet, and each state has its own
rules about how it finishes its vote count, confirms the totals and
certifies the results.
President Donald Trump has launched a flurry of lawsuits hoping
to question the legitimacy of the election, and Trump and his
supporters are pinning their hopes on recounts to dramatically
change the results in several battleground states — an incredibly
unlikely result.
Meanwhile, states are moving quickly to finalize their results.
The most tightly contested battlegrounds have deadlines looming in
the next 10 to 20 days to officially conclude the vote count and
declare the winner, which would put an end to Trump’s legal
complaints.
So far, Trump’s lawsuits have contained little evidence of
malfeasance, much less widespread, systemic fraud. Another obstacle
for Trump: Each state has very specific processes about how to ask
for recounts. Historically, recounts typically move as many as a
few hundred votes that have been mistabulated, but margins in the
key 2020 battleground states are all higher than 10,000. And many
states have specific requirements for a recount to even be
requested.
Here’s how officials in six crucial battleground states —
four that have been called for Biden and two that remain uncalled,
one with Biden in the lead and one with Trump in the lead —
certify their election results, as well as the local rules for
triggering a recount.
Arizona (Certification date: Nov. 30)
When do local election officials have to submit results?
Local election boards meet no sooner than Nov. 9, but no later than
Nov. 23, to canvass and certify local returns,
according to state law. The secretary of state canvasses
and certifies statewide results on Nov. 30, the fourth Monday after
the election,
per the state code.
What about a recount? A recount is triggered if the
difference between two candidates is 0.1 percentage points,
according to state elections code.
Georgia (Certification date: Nov. 20)
When do local election officials have to submit results?
Counties need to first certify their elections, followed by a state
certification process that includes an audit process. Gabriel
Sterling, the state’s voting system implementation manager, said
at a Friday press conference that the deadline for that
process is Nov. 20. But, he added, “our hope and intent, working
with the counties, is to move that earlier.”
What about a recount? Following that process, the
candidate in second place can request a recount if the margin is
within 0.5 percentage points. Sterling said the state was unsure
how long it’d take because it is a new system, but it will
hopefully be completed within a week.
Michigan (Certification date: Nov. 23)
When do local election officials have to submit results?
County canvassing boards started meeting on Nov. 5 and must finish
by Nov. 17, according to a calendar
from the Michigan Department of State. The state
canvassing board meets by Nov. 23 to do its work.
What about a recount? An automatic recount is triggered
if the margin is less than 2,000 votes, according to a
state summary of the recount procedure. (Biden is well
ahead of that mark.) A candidate may also petition for a recount
within 48 hours of the final canvass, but the candidate “must be
able to allege a good-faith belief that but for fraud or mistake,
the candidate would have had a reasonable chance of winning the
election,” according to
the state election code. The requesting campaign must
foot the bill for the recount in that case.
North Carolina (Certification date: Nov. 24)
When do local election officials have to submit results?
The final county canvass of results is on Nov. 13, according to
the state board of elections. The state canvass is on
Nov 24.
What about a recount? For a statewide election,
candidates can demand a recount if the margin is either 0.5
percentage points or 10,000 votes, whichever is less,
according to the state code. Individual counties or the
state board may order a “recount when necessary to complete the
canvass in an election.”
Pennsylvania (Certification date: Nov. 23)
When do local election officials have to submit results?
County officials need to submit unofficial returns no later than 5
p.m. on Nov. 10, according to
guidance from the Department of State. If counties
aren’t finished, they submit partial results and inform the
secretary of the commonwealth that unofficial returns are not yet
completed. A
calendar from the Pennsylvania Department of State lists
Nov. 23 as the last day for counties to file returns with the
secretary of the commonwealth.
What about a recount? An automatic recount is triggered
if the margin between the two candidates is less than 0.5
percentage points, based on those unofficial results. The secretary
of the commonwealth must order that recount by Nov. 12, it can
start no later than Nov. 18, and it must be finished by Nov. 24.
Partial recounts in in
It’s clear that Joe Biden won the presidential race. But the
specific results aren’t final yet, and each state has its own
rules about how it finishes its vote count, confirms the totals and
certifies the results.
President Donald Trump has launched a flurry of lawsuits hoping
to question the legitimacy of the election, and Trump and his
supporters are pinning their hopes on recounts to dramatically
change the results in several battleground states — an incredibly
unlikely result.
Meanwhile, states are moving quickly to finalize their results.
The most tightly contested battlegrounds have deadlines looming in
the next 10 to 20 days to officially conclude the vote count and
declare the winner, which would put an end to Trump’s legal
complaints.
So far, Trump’s lawsuits have contained little evidence of
malfeasance, much less widespread, systemic fraud. Another obstacle
for Trump: Each state has very specific processes about how to ask
for recounts. Historically, recounts typically move as many as a
few hundred votes that have been mistabulated, but margins in the
key 2020 battleground states are all higher than 10,000. And many
states have specific requirements for a recount to even be
requested.
Here’s how officials in six crucial battleground states —
four that have been called for Biden and two that remain uncalled,
one with Biden in the lead and one with Trump in the lead —
certify their election results, as well as the local rules for
triggering a recount.
Arizona (Certification date: Nov. 30)
When do local election officials have to submit results?
Local election boards meet no sooner than Nov. 9, but no later than
Nov. 23, to canvass and certify local returns,
according to state law. The secretary of state canvasses
and certifies statewide results on Nov. 30, the fourth Monday after
the election,
per the state code.
What about a recount? A recount is triggered if the
difference between two candidates is 0.1 percentage points,
according to state elections code.
Georgia (Certification date: Nov. 20)
When do local election officials have to submit results?
Counties need to first certify their elections, followed by a state
certification process that includes an audit process. Gabriel
Sterling, the state’s voting system implementation manager, said
at a Friday press conference that the deadline for that
process is Nov. 20. But, he added, “our hope and intent, working
with the counties, is to move that earlier.”
What about a recount? Following that process, the
candidate in second place can request a recount if the margin is
within 0.5 percentage points. Sterling said the state was unsure
how long it’d take because it is a new system, but it will
hopefully be completed within a week.
Michigan (Certification date: Nov. 23)
When do local election officials have to submit results?
County canvassing boards started meeting on Nov. 5 and must finish
by Nov. 17, according to a calendar
from the Michigan Department of State. The state
canvassing board meets by Nov. 23 to do its work.
What about a recount? An automatic recount is triggered
if the margin is less than 2,000 votes, according to a
state summary of the recount procedure. (Biden is well
ahead of that mark.) A candidate may also petition for a recount
within 48 hours of the final canvass, but the candidate “must be
able to allege a good-faith belief that but for fraud or mistake,
the candidate would have had a reasonable chance of winning the
election,” according to
the state election code. The requesting campaign must
foot the bill for the recount in that case.
North Carolina (Certification date: Nov. 24)
When do local election officials have to submit results?
The final county canvass of results is on Nov. 13, according to
the state board of elections. The state canvass is on
Nov 24.
What about a recount? For a statewide election,
candidates can demand a recount if the margin is either 0.5
percentage points or 10,000 votes, whichever is less,
according to the state code. Individual counties or the
state board may order a “recount when necessary to complete the
canvass in an election.”
Pennsylvania (Certification date: Nov. 23)
When do local election officials have to submit results?
County officials need to submit unofficial returns no later than 5
p.m. on Nov. 10, according to
guidance from the Department of State. If counties
aren’t finished, they submit partial results and inform the
secretary of the commonwealth that unofficial returns are not yet
completed. A
calendar from the Pennsylvania Department of State lists
Nov. 23 as the last day for counties to file returns with the
secretary of the commonwealth.
What about a recount? An automatic recount is triggered
if the margin between the two candidates is less than 0.5
percentage points, based on those unofficial results. The secretary
of the commonwealth must order that recount by Nov. 12, it can
start no later than Nov. 18, and it must be finished by Nov. 24.
Partial recounts in individual jurisdictions may be requested
through the courts.
Wisconsin (Certification date: Dec. 1)
When do local election officials have to submit results?:
County board of canvassers start meeting on Nov. 10 to begin
certifying results, according to the state election
board. The deadline for certification for counties is Nov.
17, and the chair of the state election board has until Dec. 1 to
do the same.
What about a recount?: Candidates can request a recount
after every county has finished certifying results if the margin is
within 1 percentage point, and the Trump campaign has said it will
seek one. A spokesperson for the state board
told the Associated Press that it is likely some
counties won’t finish certification until Nov. 17, and that the
Trump campaign has until 5 p.m. on Nov. 18 to request a recount,
which would be begin one to three days later. If the margin is
greater than .25 percent (as it currently is), the Trump campaign
would have to foot the bill.