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Past State-wide Recounts

 

A list of statewide US recounts since 2000 is at FairVote. Rules for recounts are at Citizens for Election Integrity and Ohio State University (less detail).

 

Hand-counts

Minnesota hand-counted a Senate race with 2.9 million ballots from Nov. 19 to Dec. 5, 2008 at 120 locations. One precinct lost 133 ballots, which were never found, so that precinct used election day results. Both candidate challenged about 3,300 ballots and argued about including 2,000 absentee ballots. The state supreme court denied an appeal, the final recount overturned the original winner, and Franken was sworn in.

 

Minnesota also hand-counted the Governor's election in 2010, 2.1 million ballots, from November 29 to December 8, confirming the original winner, while reducing his margin from 8,856 to 8,770.

 

Washington recounted the Governor's election with 2.9 million ballots in 2004, first by machine then by hand. The machine count confirmed the original winner, but the manual count found 500-700 more ballots and overturned the original winner.

 

Washington also recounted the Senator and Secretary of State in 2000, by machine, and confirmed the original winners.

 

Georgia tested hand counts in 2006, and decided they took too much time and space, so they did not require hand counts from 2006-2020, when they started requiring a hand audit of one contest every other year.

 

Michigan started a Presidential recount in 2016, partly by hand, and found that 11% of precincts could not be recounted because storage seals were broken or the stored paperwork from precincts did not match the number of stored ballots.

 

Holland hand-counts 10.6 million single-race ballots in a national election, and had expected to use software to compile the regional and national totals. It decided to compile by hand in March 2017, because they realized their software could be hacked.

 

South Africa's machine compilation of the 1994 election which put Nelson Mandela in power was hacked, so they compiled by hand.

 

Machine Counts

North Carolina recounted the Governor's election in 2016, a Supreme Court election in 2014, and Court of Appeals judges in 2006 and 2010, by machine, and confirmed the original winners.

 

Virginia recounted Attorney General elections in 2013 and 2005, largely by machine, and confirmed the original winners.

 

Pennsylvania recounted a Superior Court election in 2009, by machine, and confirmed the winner.

 

Florida recounted the state-wide Presidential race in 2000 by machine, and Gore requested hand-counts in four counties, which were interrupted by court challenges, culminating in the US Supreme Court ruling for Bush on December 12.