Candidate Resource Center
Know The Risks. Know Your Rights. Prepare.
State Recount Rules • Open Letter to Candidates • Red Flags to Watch For • Combatting Myths • Hand Count Procedures By State
Know Your Recount Rights
State-by-state rules, sources and deadlines.
Opens Ballotpedia in a new tab.
How To Use This Tool
Start with your state’s recount rules
Select your state to open Ballotpedia’s overview of applicable recount laws and procedures. Depending on the state, the overview may address:
✓ Automatic and candidate-requested recount provisions
✓ Eligibility, timing, costs, refunds, and partial recounts
✓ Citations and links to relevant statutes and election resources
In addition to this state-by-state breakdown, you can also find a 50-state summary of recount laws on Ballotpedia, Verified Voting, and the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Important: Verify before acting
Ballotpedia is an independent third-party resource and is not an official election authority. Recount requirements can vary by election, office, jurisdiction, and circumstance—and filing deadlines may be very short.
Before taking action, confirm all current requirements with the appropriate state or local election authority and consult qualified election-law counsel when necessary.
Open Letter to Candidates
An open letter to all candidates in the 2026 U.S. Midterm elections.
Red Flags To Watch For That May Justify a Recount Request
Understand how to identify and record election incidents to prepare to contest an election or ask for a recount.
Technical Brief: “Are U.S. Elections Secure?”
Non-partisan technical brief highlighting vulnerabilities and required next steps.
Combatting U.S. Election Myths
Reality checks — with sources, in plain language — on some of the most common myths and unfounded rationalizations the public hears about U.S. elections.
U.S. Hand Count Procedural Guidance By State
A list of existing procedural hand count guidance by state.
Build conversations on facts—not myths.
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Additional Resources
Combatting U.S. Election Myths
Reality checks — with sources, in plain language — on some of the most common myths and unfounded rationalizations the public hears about U.S. elections.
Resources on Election Security Threats and Vulnerabilities
A “cheat sheet” of written and video resources on known vulnerabilities in election machinery.