WASHINGTON:U.S. President Donald Trump hopes a recount of votes will help keep President-elect Joe Biden out of the White House, but as common as recounts may be, especially for state and local candidates, only three in the last two decades have changed the result and none for a presidential election.
Here's how recounts work and the impact they have had:
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.
“Recounts are routine. Run-of-the-mill,” said William & Mary Law School professor Rebecca Green. She said they usually show the first count to be fairly accurate, though small discrepancies, often caused by differing judgments about how to count ballots marked by hand and other issues, are not unusual.
States handle recounts differently, but the process mostly comes down to re-tallying the votes.
In Georgia, the latest tally puts Biden ahead of Trump by about 12,000 votes, 49.5% to 49.3%, with 99% of the expected ballots counted.
Voters there who showed up in person used a new touchscreen voting system that produced paper ballots that were fed into a scanner and counted. People who voted absentee used the same ballots that went through similar scanners.
When the machines could not determine which candidate a voter had selected, a bipartisan group of election officials reviewed the ballot to decide whether or how it should be counted. If Trump requests a recount, authorities in Georgia would repeat that process.
Separately, Trump’s campaign has claimed, without much proof, that it has found evidence of ballots being cast by people who died or had moved away, and that its volunteers had been prevented from scrutinizing ballot counting as closely as they wanted. Recounts will not address those issues, which have to be fought out in separate legal proceedings.
The process can take weeks, but some states also set a deadline for getting it done.
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. 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.
As of noon ET (1700 GMT) on Tuesday Biden was leading Trump there by about 0.67% of nearly 6.8 million votes counted. Voters in an election district can separately petition their county to recount votes there and the law does not set a threshold for when one should occur.
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%. As of noon ET on Tuesday, Biden was leading Trump in both states, but the count was close enough that Trump’s campaign would be able to seek a recount.
Typically, candidates make those requests after a state has certified its final vote tally, which has yet to happen.
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.
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. That happened in a governor’s race in Washington state in 2004 and in a state auditor's race in Vermont in 2006.
A recount also decided the result of a U.S. Senate race in Minnesota in 2008. Before the recount, the incumbent senator, Norm Coleman, was ahead by 215 votes; when it was over, his opponent, Al Franken, won by 225. But delayed by legal proceedings the contest took so long that the state’s U.S. Senate seat stayed empty for six months.
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.
Wisconsin, where Trump’s campaign has said he will seek a recount this year, recounted the presidential votes when Trump was elected in 2016. Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who won about 1% of the vote, sought the recount. The process added 131 votes to Trump's tally.
Last week, the state’s former Republican governor, Scott Walker, cautioned that Trump faces a “high hurdle” in trying to upset the results of an election in which he now trails Biden in the state by more than 20,000 votes.
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. After a recount and litigation that went to the U.S. Supreme Court, Florida ultimately declared that Bush had won by 537 votes.
Reuters
Wed Nov 11 2020
![Explainer: Why recounts rarely change the results of US elections Explainer: Why recounts rarely change the results of US elections](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2020-11/81605060175_ELECTION.jpg)
Election workers sort through some of the thousands of mail-in ballots at the Orange County Registrar of Voters in Santa Ana, California, U.S. REUTERSpic
10 Berita Pilihan - (16 Julai 2024
Antara pelbagai berita dalam dan luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
PAC beri tempoh tiga bulan kepada HRD Corp
Jawatankuasa Kira-kira Wang Negara (PAC) memberi tempoh tiga bulan kepada Perbadanan Pembangunan Sumber Manusia (HRD Corp) untuk mengemukakan laporan tindakan susulan terhadap syor jawatankuasa itu.
Kylian Mbappe tandatangan kontrak dengan Real Madrid
Bintang bola sepak Perancis Kylian Mbappe menandatangani kontrak selama lima tahun dengan kelab Sepanyol Real Madrid pada Selasa.
Pelepasan ketujuh air sisa nuklear Fukushima ke laut selesai
Jepun telah menyelesaikan pusingan ketujuh pelepasan air sisa radioaktif yang dirawat dari loji kuasa nuklear Fukushima Daiichi ke Lautan Pasifik pada Selasa.
Empat termasuk kapten maut dalam pertempuran
Empat anggota tentera India termasuk kapten meninggal dunia akibat kecederaan selepas pertempuuran pada malam isnin di Hutan Desa.
Pakistan sahkan 4 warganya terbunuh di Oman
Pakistan berkata pada Selasa empat warganya terbunuh dalam insiden tembakan pada malam Isnin berhampiran ibu negara Oman, Muscat.
Lima terbunuh, puluhan cedera dalam protes antikuota di Bangladesh
Sekurang-kurangnya empat orang terbunuh dan puluhan lagi cedera dalam pertempuran antara pelajar yang memprotes sistem kuota dalam pekerjaan sektor awam dan polis di pelbagai bahagian Bangladesh pada Selasa.
Kerajaan cadang perkenal pembiayaan swasta
Kerajaan menyasarkan untuk memperkenalkan pembiayaan swasta alternatif bagi memastikan kemampanan kewangan program sektor air, sekali gus mengurangkan kebergantungan pada perbelanjaan kerajaan dan mengukuhkan daya tahan.
Saya tak fitnah Guan Eng, cuma jelaskan siasatan SPRM - Muhyiddin
Presiden Bersatu Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin memberitahu Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur hari ini bahawa beliau tidak memfitnah Lim Guan Eng berhubung isu pengecualian cukai terhadap Yayasan Albukhary
KPT alu-alukan dapatan, cadangan PAC - Zambry
Ini termasuklah cadangan pelaksanaan Garis Panduan Pelaburan dan Pembiayaan oleh Universiti Awam 2024 kepada anak-anak syarikat di bawah seliaan Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi (KPT).
![Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-03/71709993909_TBBERITAx.jpg)
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
![Ringgit susut berbanding dolar US pada penutup Ringgit susut berbanding dolar US pada penutup](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-04/41713876066_TBringgitmalaysia.jpg)
Ringgit susut berbanding dolar US pada penutup
Pada 6 petang, ringgit susut lagi kepada 4.6745/6790 berbanding dolar AS daripada 4.6725/6745 semasa ditutup semalam.
![Penampilan pertama Trump di konvensyen GOP selepas terselamat cubaan bunuh Penampilan pertama Trump di konvensyen GOP selepas terselamat cubaan bunuh](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/71721113188_DonaldTrump.jpg)
Penampilan pertama Trump di konvensyen GOP selepas terselamat cubaan bunuh
Donald Trump menghadiri Konvensyen Kebangsaan Republikan pada malam Isnin, penampilan umum pertamanya sejak terselamat daripada cubaan bunuh.
![Trump umum Senator JD Vance sebagai calon Naib Presidennya Trump umum Senator JD Vance sebagai calon Naib Presidennya](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81721107129_DonaldTrumpJDV.jpg)
Trump umum Senator JD Vance sebagai calon Naib Presidennya
Bekas Presiden Amerika Syarikat Donald Trump mengumumkan Senator Ohio JD Vance akan menjadi calon Naib Presidennya dalam pilihan raya 2024.
![Tiada tempat untuk keganasan politik dalam demokrasi AS - Obama Tiada tempat untuk keganasan politik dalam demokrasi AS - Obama](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81721093818_JoeBiden.jpg)
Tiada tempat untuk keganasan politik dalam demokrasi AS - Obama
Kenyataan Obama mengundang kecaman warganet terutamanya istilah 'keganasan politik' yang dikatakan menunjukkan sisi hipokrasi Washington.
![Mahkamah AS tolak pertuduhan tambahan dalam kes dokumen sulit Trump Mahkamah AS tolak pertuduhan tambahan dalam kes dokumen sulit Trump](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/71721080824_chargingdocument.jpg)
Mahkamah AS tolak pertuduhan tambahan dalam kes dokumen sulit Trump
Permohonan Trump untuk menolak pertuduhan berdasarkan pelantikan dan pembiayaan tidak sah 'Special Counsel' Jack Smith diluluskan.
![Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2023-12/61702135893_TBBERITAx.jpg)
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
![Sokongan belian asing dorong Bursa Malaysia ditutup tinggi Sokongan belian asing dorong Bursa Malaysia ditutup tinggi](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-04/61714480297_tbbursamalaysialog.jpg)
Sokongan belian asing dorong Bursa Malaysia ditutup tinggi
Bursa Malaysia ditutup tinggi pada hari dagangan pertama minggu ini berikutan sokongan belian asing yang berterusan, dalam keadaan prestasi pasaran serantau yang bercampur-campur.
![Biden seru redakan retorik politik di AS selepas cubaan bunuh Trump Biden seru redakan retorik politik di AS selepas cubaan bunuh Trump](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/61721019915_JoeBiden.jpg)
Biden seru redakan retorik politik di AS selepas cubaan bunuh Trump
Sudah tiba masanya untuk meredakan retorik politik di Amerika Syarikat (AS), kata Presiden Joe Biden semasa ucapan mengenai cubaan membunuh bekas Presiden Donald Trump.
![Bahan letupan ditemukan dalam kereta suspek penembak Trump - Laporan Bahan letupan ditemukan dalam kereta suspek penembak Trump - Laporan](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/61721018676_ThomasMatthewCroo.jpg)
Bahan letupan ditemukan dalam kereta suspek penembak Trump - Laporan
Pihak berkuasa menemukan bahan letupan dalam kereta yang dipandu lelaki berusia 20 tahun yang didakwa cuba membunuh bekas Presiden Donald Trump semasa perhimpunan kempennya di Pennsylvania.