If a race on Nov. 3 comes down to a sliver, whether it gets counted again depends on which state you live in. Arizona and Michigan recount automatically below a set margin. Wisconsin never does: a losing candidate has to ask, and may have to pay.

Arizona: automatic at 0.5%. If the margin between the top two candidates is 0.5% or less of the votes cast for them, state law orders a recount. Nobody has to request it.

Michigan: automatic at 0.1% statewide. A statewide race within 0.1% of the votes cast is recounted automatically. For legislative races the trigger is a raw number: 75 votes for state Senate, 25 for state House. The losing candidate can waive the recount within 48 hours after certification. Older guides still cite a 2,000-vote trigger. Current law says 0.1%.

Wisconsin: only if a candidate asks. In a race with more than 4,000 votes, a candidate within 1% of the winner can petition, by 5 p.m. on the third business day after the last canvass meeting. In smaller races, the line is 40 votes. The recount is free only if the margin is 0.25% or less in a big race, or under 10 votes in a small one. Otherwise the candidate who asks pays the actual cost, estimated up front.

Why it matters. A recount is not a sign something went wrong. It is the system checking itself, under rules written before anyone knew who would be ahead. Knowing the rule now means nobody can invent one later.

Pennsylvania: automatic at 0.5% for statewide races. If a candidate on the ballot in every election district in the state loses by one-half of a percent or less, the Secretary of the Commonwealth orders a recount and recanvass in every county, by 5 p.m. on the second Thursday after the election. The same rule covers statewide ballot questions and judicial retention votes. The losing candidate can stop it with a written request by noon on the second Wednesday after the election, and the state pays the counties.

Georgia: 0.5%, but the loser has to ask. A candidate within one-half of 1% of the winner has the right to a recount if the candidate requests it in writing within two business days after certification. For a federal or state office that crosses county lines, the request goes to the Secretary of State, who orders the recount in every county involved.

Updated Oct. 19, 2026, 10:38 p.m. ET: added Pennsylvania and Georgia from the statute text.