TheChek News Flow

Several states have close vote margins between President Trump and Joe Biden, and each has its own rules for when a recount happens

Joe Biden has been declared the winner of the presidential election. Still, he and President Trump are locked into tight contests in more than a half-dozen battleground states, making it likely that one campaign or the other will request a recount once results are fully tabulated.

Mr. Trump’s campaign has said it will request a recount in Wisconsin, where unofficial totals show him trailing by around 20,000 votes and where the Associated Press has called the race for Mr. Biden. Mr. Biden’s margin there is around 0.6 percentage point, within the one-point margin necessary for a campaign to request a recount. They are also closely contesting Georgia, where Biden leads by less than 10,000 votes and where the state’s top election official has said the votes will be recounted.

Rules for recounts vary by state. Here is a breakdown of those procedures in the most competitive contests.

Campaigns can’t request a recount, they can only be triggered automatically when there is a margin of less than or equal to 0.1 percentage point.

Razor-thin margins in this state make a recount highly likely. Candidates can request a recount if the margin is within 0.5 point, and the state’s top election official said Friday a recount is coming. The request has to happen within two business days after the state certifies the election results. The certification deadline is Nov. 17.

A recount situation is unlikely here because state law stipulates that automatic recounts only occur if there are less than 2,000 votes separating candidates. As of Thursday afternoon, Mr. Biden led by more than 146,000 votes.

Campaigns can request a recount regardless of vote margin within three days of the state canvass, which must be completed within six “working days” of the election. The recount must be completed within 10 days of the request. The campaign requesting the recount must pay for it.

Campaigns can request a recount if a race has a margin of 0.5% or less, and it must be requested by noon of the second business day after the state canvass, which happens three weeks after the election. A recount must be completed within approximately five days of the request, though that is subject to the decision of the State Board of Elections.

There are mandatory recounts for any race that has a margin of 0.5% or less that must be completed within three weeks of an election. The 34,000-vote lead Mr. Biden held when the race was called Saturday was just outside that margin. Campaigns can also request recounts, no matter the margin, within five days of canvass completion.

Vote margins must be within 1 percentage point for a campaign to request a recount. There are no automatic recounts in the state, and the campaign that requests it must pay for it. It must be completed within 13 days of the formal recount order. The request must be submitted within three days of the state’s official county canvass.