Recounts All the Way Down

Across Minnesota, county election officials certify election results by following clear laws. From hotly contested races for state house seats in Sherburne and Scott counties to 17 votes separating the candidates for a third open seat on the Faribault School Board, supporters and the public alike expect to know who won and that the process works.

Dedicated elections administrators train party balanced election judges, conduct transparent meetings, and address challenges without concern of the final outcome. While media outlets are concerned about the balance of power and candidate’s are seeing their campaign through, election officials hide any personal feelings and focus on sorting and counting the ballots.    

The ballots were initially read by the optical scan tabulators after being filled out by voters. Since all counties started using electronic vote counting in 2006, recounts “have typically only shifted totals in single-digit amounts, none of which have been enough to change the outcome of a race,” according to the Minnesota Reformer. Minor shifts can happen when the machine cannot read the marks on the ballot and humans determine voter intent.

Recounts follow the post-election review process and are requested by the apparent losing candidate. If the difference between the votes for that candidate and the winning candidate falls within a certain threshold, it is publicly funded. If not, candidates can request a discretionary recount along with the funds to cover the cost. You can learn more about the recount process here.

While observers have no formal role in the process, we can play an important role in providing public oversight and an independent assessment of the recount proceedings. Again, our observations prove that election officials do their jobs with integrity so that our elections are fair and accurate.