How Much Contested Elections Could Cost in Every State

This election year has been unlike any other the U.S. has known, with the global pandemic canceling in-person conventions, relegating fundraising and campaign events to digital zones and driving up the option for citizens to vote-by-mail, instead of going to the polls.

Unless there’s a clear landslide victory, it’s highly unlikely that we’ll know who the president-elect is the day — or even the week — after Election Day. States have more than a month — until December 14 — to count ballots and cast their electoral votes, and given the anticipated surge of mail-in ballots, they’ll probably need the extra time. It’s also possible that one of the candidates won’t agree with the results and contest the election, initiating a recount of votes.

A contested election would not only mean a potentially drawn-out legal nightmare, but it would also make for a staggering bill. Recount costs vary by state and then by county, with cost also hinging on voter turnout. And as for who pays — well, that also depends. Some states foot the entire bill for recounts, while others charge the fees to the contesting candidate — who is typically only reimbursed by the state if the results are overturned. By examining recount data from Pew Research Center along with comments and figures published by Wisconsin and Michigan’s secretaries of state following the 2016 election, GOBankingRates has estimated how much a contested election would cost each state. As Michigan’s Secretary of State Ruth Johnson said after the 2016 presidential election, “[Recount costs] are very hard to predict” — which is why these estimates are so broad in range. Find out what it could cost if the election is contested after you cast your vote this year.

• 2016 voter turnout: 2,078,165
• Potential cost of a recount: $311,725 to $2,473,016

• 2016 voter turnout: 246,588
• Potential cost of a recount: $36,988 to $293,440

• 2016 voter turnout: 2,062,810
• Potential cost of a recount: $309,422 to $2,454,744

• 2016 voter turnout: 1,121,684
• Potential cost of a recount: $168,253 to $1,334,804

• 2016 voter turnout: 11,121,684
• Potential cost of a recount: $1,793,148 to $14,225,637

• 2016 voter turnout: 2,558,405
• Potential cost of a recount: $383,761 to $3,044,502

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• 2016 voter turnout: 1,623,542
• Potential cost of a recount: $243,531 to $1,932,015

• 2016 voter turnout: 441,535
• Potential cost of a recount: $66,230 to $525,427

• 2016 voter turnout: 9,386,750
• Potential cost of a recount: $1,408,013 to $11,170,233

• 2016 voter turnout: 4,029,564
• Potential cost of a recount: $604,435 to $4,795,181

• 2016 voter turnout: 404,154
• Potential cost of a recount: $60,623 to $480,943

• 2016 voter turnout: 688,235
• Potential cost of a recount: $103,235 to $819,000

• 2016 voter turnout: 5,374,280
• Potential cost of a recount: $806,142 to $6,395,393

• 2016 voter turnout: 2,722,029
• Potential cost of a recount: $408,304 to $3,239,215

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• 2016 voter turnout: 1,542,880
• Potential cost of a recount: $231,432 to $1,836,027

• 2016 voter turnout: 1,147,143
• Potential cost of a recount: $172,071 to $1,365,100

• 2016 voter turnout: 1,923,346
• Potential cost of a recount: $288,502 to $2,288,782

• 2016 voter turnout: 2,027,731
• Potential cost of a recount: $304,160 to $2,413,000

• 2016 voter turnout: 741,550
• Potential cost of a recount: $111,233 to $882,445

• 2016 voter turnout: 2,474,543
• Potential cost of a recount: $371,181 to $2,944,706

• 2016 voter turnout: 3,231,531
• Potential cost of a recount: $484,730 to $3,845,522

• 2016 voter turnout: 4,790,917
• Potential cost of a recount: $718,638 to $5,701,191

• 2016 voter turnout: 2,916,404
• Potential cost of a recount: $437,461 to $3,470,521

• 2016 voter turnout: 1,162,987
• Potential cost of a recount: $174,448 to $1,383,955

• 2016 voter turnout: 2,775,098
• Potential cost of a recount: $416,265 to $3,302,367

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• 2016 voter turnout: 485,109
• Potential cost of a recount: $72,766 to $577,280

• 2016 voter turnout: 805,63
• Potential cost of a recount: $120,846 to $958,709

• 2016 voter turnout: 1,122,990
• Potential cost of a recount: $168,449 to $1,336,358

• 2016 voter turnout: 732,229
• Potential cost of a recount: $109,834 to $871,353

• 2016 voter turnout: 3,674,893
• Potential cost of a recount: $551,234 to $4,373,123

• 2016 voter turnout: 788,841
• Potential cost of a recount: $118,326 to $938,721

• 2016 voter turnout: 7,046,175
• Potential cost of a recount: $1,056,926 to $8,384,948

• 2016 voter turnout: 4,629,471
• Potential cost of a recount: $694,421 to $5,509,070

• 2016 voter turnout: 336,968
• Potential cost of a recount: $50,545 to $400,992

• 2016 voter turnout: 5,325,395
• Potential cost of a recount: $798,809 to $6,337,220

• 2016 voter turnout: 1,451,056
• Potential cost of a recount: $217,658 to $1,726,757

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• 2016 voter turnout: 1,808,575
• Potential cost of a recount: $271,286 to $2,152,204

• 2016 voter turnout: 5,970,107
• Potential cost of a recount: $895,516 to $7,104,427

• 2016 voter turnout: 450,787
• Potential cost of a recount: $67,618 to $536,437

• 2016 voter turnout: 2,084,444
• Potential cost of a recount: $312,667 to $2,480,488

• 2016 voter turnout: 370,047
• Potential cost of a recount: $55,507 to $440,356

• 2016 voter turnout: 2,484,691
• Potential cost of a recount: $372,704 to $2,956,782

• 2016 voter turnout: 8,903,237
• Potential cost of a recount: $1,335,486 to $10,594,852

• 2016 voter turnout: 984,957 
• Potential cost of a recount: $147,744 to $1,172,099

• 2016 voter turnout: 291,413
• Potential cost of a recount: $43,712 to $346,781

• 2016 voter turnout: 3,844,787
• Potential cost of a recount: $576,718 to $4,575,297

• 2016 voter turnout: 2,957,942
• Potential cost of a recount: $443,691 to $3,519,951

• 2016 voter turnout: 708,226
• Potential cost of a recount: $106,234 to $842,789

• 2016 voter turnout: 2,944,620
• Potential cost of a recount: $441,693 to $3,504,098

• 2016 voter turnout: 248,742
• Potential cost of a recount: $37,311 to $296,003

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Methodology: In order to find how much contested elections could cost in each state, GOBankingRates used The Pew Center on the States’ brief “The Cost of Statewide Recounts” as well as statements and figures provided by the Michigan and Wisconsin Secretaries of State to establish a range of what a statewide recount could cost per ballot. With an estimated range of $0.15 to $1.19 per ballot established, GOBankingRates then found 2016 turnout for each state using Politico’s data and factored out the range a recount could potentially cost in each state. As a note, these figures represent a wide range of costs as recounts vary state to state and county to county. These figures can change with a change in turnout or labor needed, as well as if multiple recounts are needed. All data was collected on and up to date as of Sept. 17, 2020.