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Executive Summary
High-profile recounts have not only become more commonplace, they have become more complex.
Growing numbers of absentee and early ballots, new procedures including provisional balloting and new election equipment – touch-screen machines and, in some cases, voter-verifiable paper audit trails (VVPATs) – will make recounting ballots far more complicated than the closelywatched hand counts of just a few years ago.
While the Bush-Gore drama of 2000 and the equally compelling (at least locally) Washington gubernatorial election of 2004 made headlines, recounts are far more common in local races. Eight states reported they recount races regularly, particularly in New Hampshire, which has more elected offices per capita than any other state.The state conducted 18 recounts in 2004; 13 in 2002; and 32 in 2000.Wisconsin officials estimated there are between 50 and 100 local recounts following spring elections every year.
electionline.org’s survey of 51 state election directors (including the District of Columbia) detailed the procedures used around the country to recount and audit ballots as well as the factors that trigger recounts after elections.
RECOUNTS AND VVPATS
The use of VVPATs or paper ballots is required in 25 states. VVPATs produce a paper record of each vote, retained by election officials and not voters, to allow voters to see if the printed version of their ballot matches the electronic vote they have placed. In essence, a VVPAT attachment to an electronic machine produces two versions of the same vote – one digital, one tangible.
While VVPATs are clearly becoming more popular nationwide, states have differing procedures for their use. Critics, who include many election officials, have called VVPAT recounts “onerous and time-consuming,” as well as inaccessible to some people with disabilities, while paper trail advocates insist that the backup system would be rendered “meaningless” if electronic records, which are not verified by voters, are used in recounts.
•14 states require that the paper record (VVPAT) be counted as the official record of the vote.Those are: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico,New York, North Carolina, Ohio,Oregon, Utah,Washington and West Virginia.
•3 VVPAT states – Nevada, Idaho and California – require a recount of electronic ballots only.
•2 states – Missouri and Maine, have rules under development as of press time.
The remaining states have rules about paper ballots but do not use DREs or in the case of Hawaii do not have recount procedures in place.
RECOUNT TRIGGERS
The electionline.org survey found four general categories to describe when recounts take place. Candidate-initiated recounts: In 39 states, losing candidates may request recounts. Of those, 25 allow a request regardless of the outcome of the election while in 14, losing candidates can apply only if the difference is within a certain margin.
Voter-initiated recounts: 18 states allow voters to request recounts. In 11 of those, voters may request recounts in races involving candidates or ballot questions. Seven other states only allow recounts for ballot questions. Close election: 16 states conduct recounts automatically if the margin of victory between candidates is within a certain threshold – usually not exceeding 1 percent. Automatic recounts: Four states – California, Kentucky, New York and West Virginia – recount a small percentage of ballots from randomly-chosen precincts.
No recount provisions: Hawaii and Mississippi have no provisions in state law for recounts, leaving the process to the legal system.
MANUAL AUDITS
Audits, as opposed to recounts, are used in 11 states requiring VVPATs to test the accuracy of electronic voting machines. Laws concerning the use of VVPATs are still under debate in many states. However, trends are beginning to emerge in which between 1 and 10 percent of all precinct voting machines will be audited around the country. Nevada requires hand counts of VVPATs in 2 percent of the machines used in less populous counties and in three percent of more populous counties.
The state conducted the audits of VVPATs following the November 2004 general election, counting 64,000 paper representations of electronic ballots.While the state found a 100 percent matchup between paper and electronic votes, some officials decried the process in which teams of four took four hours to complete an audit of one 318- foot spool of VVPATs.
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