Past State-wide Recounts
A list of statewide US recounts since 2000 is
at FairVote. Rules for recounts are at Citizens for Election Integrity and Ohio State University (less detail).
Hand-counts
Minnesota hand-counted a Senate race with 2.9
million ballots from Nov. 19 to Dec. 5, 2008 at 120 locations. One precinct
lost 133 ballots, which were never found, so that precinct used election day
results. Both candidate challenged about 3,300 ballots and argued about
including 2,000 absentee ballots. The state supreme court denied an appeal, the
final recount overturned the original winner, and Franken was sworn in.
Minnesota also hand-counted the Governor's election in 2010, 2.1 million ballots, from
November 29 to December 8, confirming the original winner, while reducing his
margin from 8,856 to 8,770.
Washington recounted the Governor's election
with 2.9 million ballots in 2004, first by machine then by hand. The machine
count confirmed the original winner, but the manual count found 500-700 more
ballots and overturned the original winner.
Washington also recounted the Senator and
Secretary of State in 2000, by machine, and confirmed the original winners.
Georgia tested hand counts in 2006, and
decided they took too much time and space, so they did not require
hand counts from 2006-2020, when they started requiring a hand audit of one
contest every other year.
Michigan started a Presidential recount in
2016, partly by hand, and found that 11% of precincts could not be recounted because
storage seals were broken or the stored paperwork from precincts did not match
the number of stored ballots.
Holland hand-counts 10.6 million single-race
ballots in a national election, and had expected to use software to compile the
regional and national totals. It decided to compile by hand in March 2017,
because they realized their software could be hacked.
South Africa's machine compilation of the 1994 election which
put Nelson Mandela in power was hacked, so they
compiled by hand.
Machine Counts
North Carolina recounted the Governor's election in 2016, a Supreme Court
election in 2014, and Court of Appeals judges in 2006 and 2010, by machine, and
confirmed the original winners.
Virginia recounted Attorney General elections
in 2013 and 2005, largely by machine, and confirmed the original winners.
Pennsylvania recounted a Superior Court election
in 2009, by machine, and confirmed the winner.
Florida recounted the state-wide Presidential race in 2000 by machine, and Gore requested hand-counts in four counties, which were interrupted by court challenges, culminating in the US Supreme Court ruling for Bush on December 12.