Conducting

a Recount

October 2008
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The Quick Start Management Guide on 

Conducting a 

Recount

The Quick Start Management Guide on 

Conducting a Recount is part of a series of 

brochures designed to highlight and 

summarize the information contained in the 

chapters of the U.S. Election Assistance 

Commission’s (EAC) Election Management 

Guidelines (EMG). The goal of the EMG is to 

provide a collection of election management 

guidelines, consolidated into one document, 

to assist State and local election officials 

effectively manage and administer elections. 

These guidelines are solely designed to 

serve as a source of information for election 

officials and not as requirements by which 

they must abide. 

The content of the EMG and the Quick Start 

Management Guides has been developed in 

collaboration with State and local election 

officials and other election professionals who 

have first-hand experience managing 

elections. The EAC is grateful for their 

participation and ensuring the guidelines are 

practical and applicable for jurisdictions 

regardless of their size and resources. The 

EMG and the QuickStarts are available 

online at www.eac.gov.

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The Quick Start Management Guide on 

Conducting a 

Recount

Introduction

A recount is a retabulation of the votes cast 

in an election. The broadness of this 

definition is based on the differences found 

across States in how they administer 

recounts for contests for State and Federal 

elections. In general, a recount is conducted 

for a particular race or measure to confirm 

the result of the vote canvass. Furthermore, 

each State has its own laws regarding what 

may trigger a recount, and they usually fall 

within the following general categories: 

 • candidate initiated 

 • voter initiated 

 • closeness of an election (results are 

 within a specified vote margin 

 requiring an automatic recount) 

 • automatic (required by law 

 regardless of vote margin)

Following are recommendations to consider 

regarding the general management of 

recounts. The recommendations contained 

in this publication should be vetted with 

Federal, State, and local laws, regulations, 

and relevant case law to ensure they are 

properly and lawfully implemented; election 

officials should contact their State officials 

when there is a question as to whether a 

practice is permitted or prohibited under 

State law.

 U.S. Election Assistance Commission, 2005 Voluntary Voting System 

Guidelines, Vol. 1, Version 1.0.

2 Electionline.org, “Recounts: From Punch Cards to Paper Trails,” 

October 2005.

 In addition to this brochure, the EAC will make available on its Website, 

www.eac.gov, the findings of a study conducted under HAVA §241(b)(13) 

that reviews the laws and procedures used by each State that govern 

recounts of ballots cast in elections for Federal office, contests of determinations regarding whether votes are counted in such elections, and 

standards that define what will constitute a vote on each type of voting 

equipment used in the State to conduct elections for Federal office. The 

report will also include best practices regarding recounts.

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The Quick Start Management Guide on 

Conducting a 

Recount

Pre-Election Planning

 • The first step is to research and learn 

 your State’s election laws and 

 regulations regarding the conduct of a 

 recount. This will provide you the 

 framework for proceeding with the next 

 step, developing your office’s internal 

 policies and procedures for conducting 

 recounts.

Tip: Develop a team of employees to assist 

with reviewing and codifying all election 

laws pertaining to recounts. Utilize this 

team to develop a detailed work plan and 

procedure manual for managing future 

recounts in your jurisdiction.

Components of your recount work plan may 

include, but are not limited to, the following:

 • Summary of the different types of 

 recounts provided for by State law

 • Procedures for managing each type of 

 possible recount

 • Sample media releases and legal 

 notices

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The Quick Start Management Guide on 

Conducting a 

Recount

 • Detailed work flow diagrams, 

 including table configuration, paper 

 flow, etc.

 • Contact information (e.g. county

 technology staff, security company/

 police department, vendor support, 

 supply vendors, facility, records 

 storage, media, etc.)

 • Listing of temporary staff, including 

 contact information, work availability, 

 and applicable skill sets

 • Location of space options, based on 

 volume of ballots and type of recount. 

 Include details regarding observer/

 media areas

 • Security plan and procedures, 

 including chain of custody for 

 handling ballots and election 

 materials

 • Develop informational brochures 

 describing recount laws and 

 procedures. Distribute these 

 brochures to all candidates/media 

 contacts and post this information

 on your local jurisdiction’s Web site. 

 Include information such as: 

 – Who can hold the ballots? 

 – Who can transport the ballots?

 – How are the ballots secured? 

 • Develop a handout of “Frequently 

 Asked Questions on Recounts”. Some 

 examples of questions include:

 – Are recounts mandatory?

 – Will the recount establish a definite 

 winner?

 – How long does the recount last?

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The Quick Start Management Guide on 

Conducting a 

Recount

 – How much does a recount cost?

 – Who pays for a recount?

 – Under what conditions can the 

 results of a recount be challenged 

 and how do you challenge a recount?

 • Meet with your jurisdiction’s legal, 

 media, and budget staff on a regular 

 basis to review the recount work plan. 

 Identify the county staff from those 

 departments that will assist your office 

 in the event of a recount. 

 • Establish and maintain training 

 procedures for full time and temporary 

 staff. Review these procedures prior to 

 every election cycle.

Post-Election Preparation

 • Develop a timeline for each recount.

 The timeline should include 

 mandated deadlines and all other 

 details for managing the recount.

Tip: Develop your timeline as a checklist and 

update it after every recount. Remember, the 

best timeline/checklist includes every single 

detail of the process.

 • Coordinate the recount timeline with 

 your State election office and all other 

 jurisdictions included in the recount 

 district.

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The Quick Start Management Guide on 

Conducting a 

Recount

 • Assign specific full time staff members 

 to manage the media and observers. 

Tip: If possible, designate one staff member 

to coordinate all media calls and interviews. 

(See Media and Public Relations Quick Start 

Management Guide)

 • Develop talking points for media and 

 public handouts. Example: Include a 

 brief description of how the recount 

 will be managed and when the final 

 results will be announced. Also 

 provide an overview of which races are 

 being recounted, and the number of 

 ballots included in the recount. (See 

 Media and Public Relations Quick Start 

 Management Guide)

 • Determine the location for conducting 

 the recount. Set up the recount work 

 area based on your pre-determined 

 work plan and work flow design. 

 Review and order supplies, as required.

 • Prepare, post, and publish all required 

 legal notifications and mailings. 

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The Quick Start Management Guide on 

Conducting a 

Recount

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Tip: Work in partnership with staff from your 

legal department to confirm that all legal 

requirements are met and documented.

 • Meet with your budget staff to prepare 

 an estimate of the cost for conducting 

 the recount. Communicate this cost 

 estimate to the appropriate department

 managers and elected officials. If 

 required, provide a cost estimate to the 

 requesting candidate and/or party 

 official.

 • Assign staff to the various recount 

 teams.

Tip: Work in teams of two when recounting 

ballots to ensure accuracy.

 • Review your security plan and 

 secure security staff to be on-site 

 throughout the recount process. 

 (See Voting System Security Quick 

 Start Management Guide)

 • Determine the need for video/audio 

 recording of the proceedings and plan 

 accordingly.

Conducting the Recount

 • Conduct a kick-off briefing/orientation

 for all participants in the recount. This

 is an opportunity to describe the 

 process, the workflow, State laws/

 regulations, and overall procedures for 

 managing the recount.

 • Review state mandated deadlines and 

 determine staffing needs based on 

 these deadlines.

 • Review your office procedures, to 

 include the following:

 – The working hours for the recount 

 teams, including scheduled break 

 and lunchtime. 
The Quick Start Management Guide on 

Conducting a 

Recount

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Tip: Be sure to schedule periodic breaks for 

the recount teams. Consider limiting each 

recount member to no more than six

working hours per day to ensure accuracy.

 – Reinforce the “team of two” concept 

 throughout the process. Assign 

 team leaders to each component of 

 the recount work flow. 

 – Provide an overview of the policies 

 and procedures for media and 

 observers of the recount. 

 – Distribute copies of your security 

 plan to everyone involved in the 

 process.

 • Develop a process for managing the 

 flow of information to the recount board, 

 the media, to candidates, and political 

 parties. 

Tip: Consider allowing interested parties to 

sign up to receive a daily email update from 

your office throughout the recount.

 • Periodically meet with key staff 

 members to review the progress of the 

 recount. Be prepared to implement 

 Plan B, to include additional staff and a 

 modified work flow, in order to meet 

 mandated deadlines.

 • Conduct periodic media briefings in 

 order to answer all questions during a 

 designated time period. 

 • Communicate the dates and times of 

 these media briefings to all interested 

 parties.

Reporting Outcomes

 • Notify the candidates, media, and other 

 interested parties of the time and 

 location of the canvass board meeting 

 where the recount outcome will be 

 reported.
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The Quick Start Management Guide on 

Conducting a 

Recount

 • Compile all required reports for the

 canvass board. This includes a detailed 

 summary of the recount process, i.e. 

 number of ballots counted, final 

 outcome, etc.

 • Prepare a cost analysis for the recount.

 This report should be provided to the 

 budget department staff and/or billed to 

 the appropriate party.

 • Immediately following the recount

 process, conduct a full staff debriefing 

 to include:

 – Overview of procedures and work flow 

 process

 – Review of lessons learned and ideas 

 for changes/modifications for future 

 recounts

 • Compile recount statistics to be 

 included in future work plan documents. 

 Examples include staffing needs, ballot 

 storage and facility costs, etc.

 • Prepare all ballots and recount 

 documentation for archival storage.

 • Itemize all records and documentation 

 involved in the recount, including their 

 secured storage location in preparation 

 for public records requests and/or 

 potential lawsuits.

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For information regarding this publication or to 

request additional copies at no cost, please contact: 

Address

U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

1201 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 300 

Washington, DC 20005

Attn: Election Management Guidelines

Telephone

(202) 566-3100 

(866) 747-1471 (toll free)

Fax

(202) 566-3127

E-mail Address

HAVAinfo@eac.gov

Website

www.eac.gov

The EAC is an independent bipartisan commission created by 

the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). It is charged with 

administering payments to states and developing guidance to 

meet HAVA requirements, implementing election administration 

improvements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, 

accrediting voting system test laboratories and certifying voting 

equipment and serving as a national clearinghouse and resource 

of information regarding election administration.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION