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President Donald Trump hopes a recount of votes will help keep President-elect Biden out of the White House, but as common as recounts may be, they rarely change the results of U.S. elections and none for a presidential election. Here’s a closer look: https://reut.rs/38yNRNs 1/9
What is a recount?
In a recount, authorities repeat the process of tallying up votes. They are a relatively common feature of U.S. elections, though rare in presidential contests. States handle recounts differently, but the process mostly comes down to re-tallying the votes 2/9
In a recount, authorities repeat the process of tallying up votes. They are a relatively common feature of U.S. elections, though rare in presidential contests. States handle recounts differently, but the process mostly comes down to re-tallying the votes 2/9
Can Trump get a recount?
Every state sets its own threshold for when to do a recount. Some require one whenever an election is especially close 3/9
Every state sets its own threshold for when to do a recount. Some require one whenever an election is especially close 3/9
In Pennsylvania, one of the states pivotal to Biden’s victory, a recount is required if the margin between the winning candidate and the runner-up is less than 0.5% of the votes cast in the election 4/9
Other states like Georgia and Wisconsin allow a losing candidate to force a recount but do not require one. Georgia allows candidates to seek a recount if the margin is less than 0.5%; Wisconsin allows one if it is less than 1% 5/9
Does it make a difference?
Recounts rarely upset the results of an election. When they have, it has been in cases in which only a few hundred votes separated the top two candidates 6/9
Recounts rarely upset the results of an election. When they have, it has been in cases in which only a few hundred votes separated the top two candidates 6/9
A study last year by the non-partisan group Fair Vote concluded that states had conducted 31 statewide recounts between 2000 and 2019, and that the outcome changed in only three of them 7/9
More often, in a recount the winner won by a tiny bit more. On average, they shifted the outcome by 0.024%, Fair Vote found - a vastly smaller margin than Trump would need to overtake Biden in any of the battleground states where he was losing by narrow margins 8/9
The most famous presidential recount was in Florida in 2000, when George W. Bush was 1,784 votes ahead of Al Gore in a state that would determine which of them would be president. More on why recounts rarely change U.S election results https://reut.rs/38yNRNs by @bradheath 9/9
