From 2000 to 2016, there were a total of 4,687 statewide elections in the United States, and 26 of them have been close enough to require a recount. Three of those recounts overturned the results declared on election night: a 2004 governor’s race in Washington, a 2006 state auditor’s race in Vermont, and a 2008 U.S. Senate race in Minnesota.
In all three cases, the change in votes was very small, 440 or less. According to an analysis by FairVote, the average change was about two-hundredths of a percentage point (0.019 percent). In all three cases, a Republican was initially declared the victor and the Democrat won on the recount.
This year, the Florida Senate and governor’s races are both involved in a recount. The initial recount is scheduled to end on Thursday at 3 p.m. While the elections were very close, the leads currently held by Republicans Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis are much larger than the number of votes that typically shift during a recount.
Prior to Election Day, 76 percent of voters nationwide were confident that votes would be accurately counted and the correct winner declared. That has fallen to 63 percent this week.
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is the author of "Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement Is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System," "In Search of Self-Governance," and "The People’s Money: How Voters Will Balance the Budget and Eliminate the Federal Debt." Read more reports from Scott Rasmussen — Click Here Now.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.