The states where midterms recounts are most likely


If the 2022 election is anything like 2020, voters shouldn't expect to see the result of every race right away. For one thing, states like Wisconsin, Michigan, or Arizona might find themselves delayed by requests for a recount, whether automatic or candidate-petitioned, CNBC reports.
In Arizona, for example (where some especially bitter and tight contests are underway), a recount is automatically triggered "if the margin between a candidate and the winner is less than or equal to 0.5 percent [of] the total votes," CNBC writes. The same goes for the battleground states of Florida and Pennsylvania, though there is no margin requirement for a recount request in Pennsylvania, and only the secretary of state can call for a recount in Florida. A quarter-point margin triggers a recount in Ohio for statewide races.
In Wisconsin, where Republican Sen. Ron Johnson hasn't committed to accepting the election's results (he hasn't said he'll challenge them, either), voters could find themselves caught up in a candidate-requested recount, but only if the margin "is less than or equal to 1 percent of the total votes cast," CNBC notes. Michigan gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon (R) has similarly dodged questions of election acceptance; there is no margin requirement for a recount request in her state, but one is automatically triggered by a margin of 2,000 votes or less.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Down south, Democratic candidate for Texas governor Beto O'Rourke has said he's "not counting on" Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to concede in the event of a loss; but a recount is only automatic should the pair tie. Otherwise, the losing candidate can request one so long as their loss is "less than 10 percent of the total number of votes received by the winner," per CNBC. And in Georgia, the site of plenty of election drama in 2020, a candidate can only request a recount if the margin is less than or equal to 0.5 percent of total votes cast.
Ultimately, remember that "recounts rarely change the outcome of elections," writes Talking Points Memo — rather, they just "add days onto the process as officials re-tally the results."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Zohran Mamdani: the young progressive likely to be New York City's next mayor
In The Spotlight The policies and experience that led to his meteoric rise
-
The best film reboots of all time
The Week Recommends Creativity and imagination are often required to breathe fresh life into old material
-
'More must be done'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders