Too many states lack comprehensive recount laws that uphold election integrity while discouraging expensive and time-consuming recounts.  For more information, read FairVote's report on statewide recounts, a thorough survey and analysis of recounts in the United States from 2000-2009. The report offers a number of suggestions for improving recount practices based on its conclusions.

Idaho:

Law Number: ID H0275 Elections Requirements
2012 Status: Died.
Date of Last Action: 04/11/11
Author: Senate Affairs Committee
Summary:  Provides for implementation of the Election Consolidation Law of 2009, relates to classification and retention of county election records, election day registration, notice to precinct committeemen, independent candidates for president and vice-president, petition circulators, written receipt for ballots, return of an absentee ballot, modified procedures for political subdivision elections, application for recount, automatic recount, and recount procedures for automated tabulation systems.

Indiana:
   
Law Number: IN SB 0367 Recounts and Contests 
2012 Status:  Died.
Date of Last Action:  01/11/11 
Author: Young (D)
Summary: Eliminates requirement that the third member of a recount commission be a mechanic, requires that all contracts or leases for the sale or lease of voting equipment, systems, or software entered into, amended, or renewed after June 30, 2011, include a provision that requires the vendor of the voting equipment, systems, or software, in the event of a recount of an election in which the vendor's voting equipment, systems, or software is used, to provide to the recount commission a competent expert who is familiar with the voting equipment, systems, or software used in the election. Provides that multiple recount petitions, in order to be consolidated, must be filed not later than noon on the fourteenth day (in the case of petitions filed by candidates) or seventeenth day (in the case of petitions filed by county chairmen) after election day. (Under current law, the petitions must be filed not later than noon on the seventh day after election day.) Eliminates the requirement that the state recount commission's hearing on a contest petition be convened at least two days after the contest proceeding is ordered. 

********************

Law Number: IN HB 1364 Recounts and Contests 
2012 Status: Died.
Date of Last Action: 01/18/11
Author: Niezgodski (D)  
Summary: Requires a petitioner in an election recount or contest to pay the reasonable attorney's fees of other candidates who are parties in the action, provides that the fees that a petitioner is required to pay may not exceed more than two hundred dollars an hour.

Iowa:
   
Law Number: IA HF 547 Election Recounts 
2012 Status: Died.
Date of Last Action: 04/01/11
Author: Committee on State Government 
Summary: Provides that the members of a recount board are the only persons authorized to physically touch the ballots during a recount, and if a retabulation is necessary, that must be done by the board instead of the supervising commissioner.

Maine:
   
Law Number: ME LD 277 State Elections and Dispute Ballots 
2012 Status: Passed - SENATE
Date of Last Action: 06/01/11
Author: Fossel (R)
Summary: Requires the Secretary of State to make available for public inspection a disputed ballot arising from an election recount and specifies that the manner of making an absentee ballot available for public inspection must preserve the voter's anonymity. Amended in Committee to specify that the Secretary of State is required to make available for public inspection only copies of unresolved disputed ballots rather than the actual ballots. It also limits this public inspection of copies of disputed ballots to elections for the State House of Representatives and the State Senate. The amendment also specifies that the Secretary of State must retain these copies for 2 years.

Minnesota:

Law Number: MN HF 561 Election Recount Procedures
2012 Status: Died.
Date of Last Action: 03/17/11
Author: Beard (R)
Summary: Would require that the losing candidate actually request a recount rather than beginning recounts automatically for races won by tiny margins. Would also narrow the threshold margin that makes a candidate eligible for a recount from 0.5% to 0.25%.

Missouri:

Law Number: MO HB 121 Elections
2012 Status: Died.
Date of Last Action: 04/07/11
Author: Duggar (R)
Summary: Narrows by half the margin of defeat required for a losing candidate to have a right to a recount. Must be defeated by less than one-half of 1% (so 0.5%) of votes cast. The current law only requires less than 1%. The recount provision is only one part of a bill that covers many aspects of the Election Code.

Nebraska:
   
Law Number: NE LB 161 Recounting Votes 
2012 Status: Died.
Date of Last Action: 01/04/12
Author: Karpisek (NP) 
Summary: Changes provisions relating to recounting votes and entitles a candidate to a recount when the margin of defeat is less than 1% of the vote for more than 500 voters and less than 2% of the vote for less than 500 voters.

Nevada:
   
Law Number: NV AB 81 Elections
2012 Status: Approved by Governor
Date of Last Action: 06/17/11
Author: Legislative Operations and Elections
Summary: Relates to elections, relates to declarations of candidacy, clarifies when a minor political party may be recognized, revises requirements for petitions of referendum, relates to ballots, requires employers to allow employees to be absent to participate in the nomination process for President, provides that the residency of spouses of certain military personnel is not changed whether absent or present in this State, makes various changes concerning campaign contributions and expenditures.

Oregon:
   
Law Number: OR HB 2912 Elections 
2012 Status: Governor Signed - Effective 01/01/12
Date of Last Action: 06/23/11
Author: Wingard (R) 
Summary: Requires automatic full recount of votes cast for nomination or election of candidate to nonpartisan office at nominating election when candidate receives close to majority of votes cast for office.

********************

Law Number: OR HB 3092 Nomination Petitions and Declaration of Candidacy
2011 Status: Died.
Date of Last Action: 06/30/11
Author: Hicks (R) 
Summary:Provides that if nominating petition or declaration of candidacy is filed by no more than two candidates for nonpartisan office, candidate or candidates shall be nominee or nominees for office without election, requires automatic full recount of votes cast for nomination or election of candidate for nonpartisan office at nominating election when number of votes cast for one candidate differs from majority of votes cast for office by not more than one-fifth of one percent of total votes cast.

********************

Law Number: OR H 3405 Elections
2012 Status: Died.
Date of Last Action: 06/30/11 
Author: Olson (R) 
Summary: Requires each counting board conducting recount to allow certain individuals to watch recount.

Rhode Island:
   
Law Number: RI HB 5668 Elections
2012 Status: Pending - House Judiciary Committee
Date of Last Action: 04/13/11 
Author:  Ajello (D) 
Summary: Would make changes to the elections recount process. It would increase the number of provisional ballot votes to be counted. Minor changes are made to the polling place laws. Finally it would subject the board of elections to the Administrative Procedures Act concerning its adoption of rules and regulations. This act would take effect upon passage.

Virginia:
   
Law Number: VA SB 1076 Ballot Recount Procedures
2012 Status: Enacted - Acts of Assembly. Chapter No. 522.
Date of Last Action: 03/25/11
Author: Barker (D) 
Summary:Provides that in a recount when ballots are rerun through optical scan tabulators, the total number of ballots counted by the tabulator and the total number of ballots set aside by the tabulator must equal the total number of ballots rerun through the tabulator, provides that if this requirement is not met, all of the optical scan ballots for the precinct must by counted by hand.

Vermont:
   
Law Number: VT H 298 Standardized Ballots 
2012 Status: Died.
Date of Last Action: 02/02/12
Author: Hubert (R)
Summary:Proposes to require the Secretary of State to supply towns with standardized ballots that can be used in vote tabulators, requires that recounts be performed using vote tabulators.

********************

Law Number: VT H 337 Election Recount Requirements
2012 Status: Died.
Date of Last Action: 02/25/11
Author:  Savage (R) 
Summary: Proposes to change the election officials responsible for conducting a recount.

Last Updated: 06/11/12