A Gwinnett county employee raises a bit of paper saying that they’ve an issue as they start their recount of the ballots on November 13, 2020 in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Megan Varner | Getty Images
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The balance of power within the narrowly controlled Congress is probably not known by the point polls close across America late Tuesday.
Several states have laws that require automatic recounts in tight races. Some Republican candidates have already said they plan to challenge the outcomes — in the event that they lose — setting the U.S. up for one more round of contentious and drawn-out legal battles and recounts harking back to the 2020 race, which former President Donald Trump still falsely claims he won.
Recounts in that race were done in Georgia, Arizona and Wisconsin, while election officials audited the leads to Texas, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
Listed below are the states where recounts or audits that might delay final results are likely in 2022:
Wisconsin
Republican Sen. Ron Johnson hasn’t said he’ll challenge the outcomes if he loses his Senate seat to Democratic challenger Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, but he also hasn’t said he would routinely accept the outcomes, The Washington Post reported Nov. 1.
“We’ll see what happens,” he told reporters during a campaign stop. “I mean, is something going to occur on Election Day? Do Democrats have something up their sleeves?”
Barnes’ campaign said he would accept the outcomes, the Post reported.
Is the recount automatic? No, Wisconsin doesn’t have automatic recounts, based on state law.
How is it requested? A candidate can request a recount if the margin is lower than or equal to 1% of the overall votes solid within the election. If fewer than 4,000 votes were solid within the race, the requesting candidate should be inside 40 votes of the winner.
The candidates have until 5 p.m. on the third day after the result’s announced to offer a press release, verified under oath, that they consider there was a mistake, irregularity or fraud made within the count or return of ballots.
How is it funded? The requesting candidate only pays a fee if the margin is larger than or equal to 0.25%. If a race has fewer than 4,000 votes, the requesting candidate pays if the difference is larger than or equal to 10 votes. If the difference is smaller than the above threshold, taxpayer money funds the recount.
Within the 2020 election, the Trump campaign paid $3 million for a recount of Wisconsin’s Milwaukee and Dane counties, and around $545,000 was refunded to the campaign after the count.
Georgia
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams didn’t initially concede her 2018 gubernatorial loss to current Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, citing voter suppression efforts. Each candidates face off again Tuesday for a similar office, but they’ve committed to accepting the outcomes.
So, too, have Senate candidates Republican Herschel Walker and Democrat Raphael Warnock, based on The Washington Post.
Is the recount automatic? No, state law doesn’t require an automatic recount.
How is it requested? A candidate can request a recount if the margin is lower than or equal to 0.5% of the overall votes solid within the election. The candidate has two business days after the outcomes are certified to ask the Georgia secretary of state for a recount.
How is it funded? Each the recount and the risk-limiting audit are paid for with taxpayer money, based on the secretary of state’s office.
Michigan
Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon, who falsely claims the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, also refuses to say she’ll accept the election leads to her race against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. She’s also repeatedly criticized the state’s Democratic secretary of state, Jocelyn Benson.
Is the recount automatic? No, state law requires a recount to be requested.
How is it requested? There is no such thing as a margin requirement for a request. A candidate must file a sworn request with a “good-faith belief” that they’d have won the election if not for fraud or a mistake. Additionally they must state the character of that fraud or mistake to the very best of their ability.
They have to file inside six days of the initial certification.
How is it funded? The candidate must provide at the least $25 per precinct requested.
If the margin is greater than 0.5% of the vote total, the petitioner must deposit $125 per precinct. If the variety of votes separating the winner from petitioner is greater than 5% of the overall votes, the candidate must deposit $250 per precinct.
The candidate’s deposit is refunded if the recount reveals a fraud or mistake that changes the winner of the election.
Pennsylvania
Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano, who’s running on a platform that features false claims in regards to the results of the 2020 presidential election, has declined to say he would accept the outcomes of his race, based on local Pennsylvania outlet GoErie. Mastriano’s Democratic opponent, Josh Shapiro, said he would accept the outcomes, GoErie reported.
Is the recount automatic? Yes, if the margin is lower than or equal to 0.5% of the overall votes solid within the election, based on state law. Otherwise, the recount should be requested.
How is it requested? There is no such thing as a margin requirement for a request. A candidate must file a request inside five days of the election.
How is it funded? The petitioner pays the recount fee. The fee is refunded if the recount reveals substantial error or fraud.
Arizona
Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who’s endorsed by Trump and campaigning on false claims of fraud within the 2020 presidential election, wouldn’t commit to accepting the outcomes of her election in an interview on CNN. She as an alternative said: “I will win the election, and I’ll accept that result.”
Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters, who’s been endorsed by Trump and backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, has been laying the groundwork for a recount for months.
Is the recount automatic? Yes, if the margin between a candidate and the winner is lower than or equal to 0.5% the overall votes.
How is it requested? A non-mandatory recount can’t be requested.
How is it funded? The recount is funded by the state.
Texas
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke told the Fort Value Star-Telegram that he is not confident Republican Gov. Greg Abbott would concede a loss.
“I’m not counting on it,” O’Rourke told the publication, citing Abbott’s “open embrace” of Trump, “who himself tried to subvert this democracy.”
Is the recount automatic? Provided that two candidates tie, state law says.
How is it requested? A losing candidate can file a petition if the margin of their loss is lower than 10% of the overall variety of votes received by the winner.
How is it funded? The petitioner pays a deposit for compensation of the recount committee members, the usage of automatic tabulating equipment, $15 to every recount supervisor and $50 to the recount coordinator. If the final result of the election is modified by the recount, the deposit is returned to the petitioner.
Florida
When asked if he would accept the election results, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said, “Sure, because I will win,” based on NPR.
The outlet says he later clarified that “irrespective of what the final result is, I’ll support it, because Florida has good laws. They are not some crazy laws like they’ve in Pennsylvania and these other places.” His Democratic opponent, Val Demings, didn’t give a transparent answer to the query, based on Fox News.
Is the recount automatic? Yes, if the margin between a candidate and a winner is lower than 0.5% of the overall votes solid.
How is it requested? The secretary of state is liable for ordering a manual recount, based on state law. Candidates cannot request recounts.
How is it funded? The state funds the recounts.