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.

Alabama

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

Alaska

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

Arizona

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

Arkansas

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

California

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

Colorado

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

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Connecticut

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

Delaware

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

Florida

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

Georgia

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

Hawaii

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

Idaho

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

Illinois

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

Indiana

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

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Iowa

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

Kansas

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

Kentucky

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

Louisiana

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

Maine

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

Maryland

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

Massachussetts

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

Michigan

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

Minnesota

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

Mississippi

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

Missouri

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

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Montana

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

Nebraska

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

Nevada

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

New Hampshire

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

New Jersey

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

New Mexico

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

New York

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

North Carolina

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

North Dakota

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

Ohio

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

Oklahoma

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

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Oregon

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

Pennsylvania

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

Rhode Island

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

South Carolina

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

South Dakota

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

Tennessee

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

Texas

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

Utah

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

Vermont

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

Virginia

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

Washington

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

West Virginia

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

Wisconsin

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

Wyoming

• 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.

About the Author

Nicole Spector

Nicole Spector is a writer, editor, and author based in Los Angeles by way of Brooklyn. Her work has appeared in Vogue, the Atlantic, Vice, and The New Yorker. She's a frequent contributor to NBC News and Publishers Weekly. Her 2013 debut novel, "Fifty Shades of Dorian Gray" received laudatory blurbs from the likes of Fred Armisen and Ken Kalfus, and was published in the US, UK, France, and Russia — though nobody knows whatever happened with the Russian edition! She has an affinity for Twitter.

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