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A brief history of recounts
What are recounts, when do they happen and what is the usual result?
Q: What is a recount?
A: A recount is a repeat tabulation of votes cast in an election that is used to determine the correctness of an initial count. Recounts will often take place if the initial vote tally during an election is extremely close. Election recounts can result in changes in contest tallies. Errors can be found or introduced from human factors, such as transcription errors, or machine errors, or misreads of paper ballots. Alternately, tallies may change because of a reinterpretation of voter intent.
So basically when a race is close or someone asks for it, the will go through and count all the ballots again.
Q: How frequently do recounts happen?
A: Recounts are rare.
Between 2000 and 2019 there were 5,778 statewide elections, and there were 31 recounts in that time.
So recounts happened in 0.53% or half of 1 percent of total elections. 57 recounts would be 1% of elections resulting in a recount.
Q: How often do recounts change the initial election result?
A: Of those 31 recounts, only 3 resulted in a change of the initial election result. Those 3 were the:
