Under North Carolina law, candidates in close elections may request a recount after the county canvass, which is today (Friday, November 13). The county boards of elections would conduct any recounts in the coming days.
All recounts are open to the public and paid for by the county boards. Recounts would begin next week with a full machine recount that should be completed by November 23. The State Board of Elections will meet to consider statewide certification of the election on November 24.
State Board staff will post any recount requests at Recount Requests. For details on the recount process, see Numbered Memo 2026-01: Conduct of Recounts.
“We appreciate the hard work of our dedicated elections professionals throughout the state, and we look forward to bringing this midterm election to a successful conclusion,” said Sam Hayes, State Board executive director.
Recount Requests
Candidates trailing in the vote tally, according to official results after Friday’s county canvass, may request a recount under the following scenarios:
- For a statewide ballot item, the difference between the winning candidate and the candidate requesting the recount is ½ of 1% (0.5%) of the votes cast in the ballot item, or 10,000 votes, whichever is less. (Note: No statewide contests appear to be close enough for recounts in 2026.)
- For a non-statewide ballot item, the difference between the winning candidate and the candidate requesting the recount is 1% or less of the total votes cast in the contest.
For contests under the jurisdiction of a county board of elections, a recount request must be made in writing to the county board by 5 p.m. Monday, November 16. For contests under the State Board’s jurisdiction, a recount request must be received by the State Board by noon Tuesday, November 17. This includes U.S. House contests, multi-county state legislative districts, and judicial contests.
First Recounts
In an initial recount, the county boards of elections would feed all ballots cast in the relevant contest through a tabulator.
To ensure integrity and fairness, county boards use two-person, bipartisan teams for recounts. If machines reject any ballots during the recount, they must be recounted by hand by a four-person, bipartisan team. At least three county board members, with at least one Republican and one Democratic member, must be present to make determinations about voter intent when in question on a ballot.
Recounts are public. County boards must provide public notice at least 48 hours before the start of any recount. Observers may not take photographs or videos during recounts if the photo or video would record a voted ballot, because state law prohibits photographing or videotaping voted ballots.
Hand Recount
After the machine recount, the trailing candidate has 24 hours to request a hand-to-eye recount in a sample of 3% of precincts and early voting sites, or a combination of both. The sample will be drawn at random by State Board staff for contests in the State Board’s jurisdiction. If a hand-to-eye recount is necessary, it would begin within two business days of the request for it.
The sample hand-to-eye recount determines whether there are enough discrepancies between the machine recount and the hand count. If so, a full hand recount of all ballots cast may be required.
Full Hand Recount
If results of the sample hand recount differ from the machine recount, such that extrapolating the amount of the change to the entire jurisdiction (based on the proportion of ballots recounted to the total votes cast for that office) would result in reversing the results, the State Board would order a full hand recount of ballots in that contest.
Election Protests
After an election, voters or candidates may file an election protest, a formal complaint alleging that violations of election law, irregularities, or misconduct affected the results. A successful protest can correct results, cause a recount, or even result in a new election. For details, see the State Board’s Election Protest Procedures Guide.
Please see Protests for copies of any election protests filed in the 2026 general election.