reduce, reuse, recount
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.
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."