When can candidates ask for a recount? What to know about election laws in key states

The campaign for President Donald Trump wants a recount in Wisconsin and complained about vote tallying in other states key to his re-election.

When can the president, former Vice President Joe Biden or other candidates demand a recount in these states?

Here’s a brief rundown of recount election laws in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada.

Wisconsin

The state requires a candidate to be within 1% of the winner to demand a recount, according to the Wisconsin election laws. The requesting candidate must pay for the recount if the margin is more than 0.25%.

Here’s a look at how past Wisconsin recounts turned out, including the 2016 presidential election.

Pennsylvania

A recount is initiated automatically is the margin is 0.5% or less in a statewide election, according to the nonprofit Citizens for Election Integrity in Minnesota, which advocates for accurate and transparent elections nationwide.

Candidates can’t directly file a recount petition, but they can appeal decisions made by the county boards computing or canvassing returns, and a court can decide whether it’s necessary, CEIM says.

Georgia

Candidates can request a recount if the margin of defeat is within 0.5% of the total vote.

The deadline for a request is within two days of the certification of results. In Georgia, results must be certified within 14 days of the election, according to the National Association of Secretaries of State.

North Carolina

A margin up to 0.5% or 10,000 votes, whichever is less, is required for a candidate to ask for a recount.

The request must be made by noon of the second business day after a county canvasses votes.

Michigan

A recount happens automatically if the margin is 2,000 votes or fewer, ABC News reports.

Candidates can seek recounts if they can “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 state law.

Arizona

A recount is triggered if the margin is within 0.1% or if the vote is within 200 votes in an election with more than 25,000 voters.

Candidates can’t request recounts, according to ABC News.

Nevada

The state does not have an automatic recount policy, but any candidate can ask for a recount.

It must be requested within three business days of vote canvassing.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the required margin of error to request a recount in Georgia. The losing candidate must be within 0.5% of the declared winner.

This story was originally published November 4, 2020 at 2:48 PM with the headline "When can candidates ask for a recount? What to know about election laws in key states."