US Elections 2020: Now as Joe Biden, the democratic Presidential nominee leads the race to White House, and results in key battleground states remain pending, rules governing the vote re-count could play a key role, especially when Trump has claimed that mail-in ballots are prone to fraud.


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On November 4th,Trump raised questions over counting of votes in battleground states and has decided to go to the court over it. The Trump campaign lost no time in filing a lawsuit on Wednesday in a Michigan state court demanding access to locations where ballots were being counted.

Trump’s campaign also pushed for an "immediate" recount in the battleground state of Wisconsin.

What is the rule of re-count in US?

In the United States, the states and local elections officials conduct recount to confirm the accuracy of the initial counts and ensure that the results are assessed in an error-free manner. Recounts are also done in cases when claims of frauds are made.

The Bush Vs Al Gore Recount Episode:

It was in the year 2000, when Bush and Al Gore were looked in a tight battle, a recount was initiated in the swing state of Florida. Florida SC had then ordered a statewide manual recount of “undervotes.” Bush then immediately asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse that decision. Gore accepted the Supreme Court’s decision and conceded the election to Bush.

Here’s a look at what are the rules of recount in the key battleground states:

Nevada: Nevada has no rules that trigger an automatic recount. Dissatisfied candidates can ask for a recount if they deposit the estimated costs of that recount.  If the initial outcome is flipped, the candidate is reimbursed.

Georgia: Trump has already filed a petition against counting in Georgia.  However, as per rules stated in a report by Fox News, Georgia does not have any guidelines that would trigger an automatic vote recount. A requested recount can occur if candidates are separated by a margin of 0.5% or less.

Pennsylvania: In Pennsylvania, mail-in ballots have been given legal validity.  An automatic recount occurs if the race is separated by a margin of 0.5% or less, or if elections officials identify irregularities in the results. Trump had said he would go to Supreme Court against the counting in Pennsylvania.

North Carolina: North Carolina has a rule which triggers an automatic recount if officials detect an error while conducting a random-sample review of initial count. A forced recount by a candidate can be applicable when the margin is under 10,000 or 0.5%.

Michigan: An automatic recount is provided in Michigan if the margin is 2000 votes or less. A recount can occur if a campaign alleges fraud or other errors within 48 hours and provides a justifiable explanation on why recount should take place.