No extra check when the race is close
A razor-thin race is exactly when you'd want an automatic extra check. But in many places there's no rule that triggers a recount or audit just because the margin is tiny — so the closest, most error-prone results can be certified with no second look.
Explainer video coming soon
A 60-second, plain-language walkthrough of this gap.
What actually happened
Whether a close race gets an automatic recheck depends entirely on where you live. Some states automatically recount when the margin is within about 0.5% (Arizona, Pennsylvania) or a small vote count (Michigan, ~2,000 votes). But others — Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Wisconsin — have no automatic recount at all; a candidate has to request one. Where neither an automatic trigger nor a mandatory audit kicks in, the tightest results get the least scrutiny.
Where it stands today
This is current law and varies state by state. Many jurisdictions still set no margin-based trigger for an extra check, so a result decided by a handful of votes can stand unexamined. The figure above reflects today's statutes.
The tightest races get the least scrutiny
A race decided by a handful of votes is the one most likely to be wrong — from a glitch or from tampering. So it's exactly the race that should get an automatic extra check. Yet in many places, nothing triggers one.
What it looks like in practice
Whether a close result gets rechecked depends on your state. Arizona and Pennsylvania automatically recount within ~0.5%; Michigan does at ~2,000 votes. But Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, and Wisconsin have no automatic recount — a candidate must request one, on a deadline. Where neither an automatic trigger nor a mandatory audit applies, the closest races get the least examination.
How TrustVoting closes it
A paper trail built for risk-limiting audits makes margin-sensitive checking cheap and routine — a closer result automatically warrants more checking, instead of depending on whether someone files a request in time.
How TrustVoting closes it
TrustVoting's risk-limiting-audit-ready paper trail makes margin-sensitive checking cheap and routine — a closer result automatically warrants more checking, not less, instead of depending on whether someone files a request in time.