What are the rules for recounts and post-election audits?

In West Virginia, rules for recounts and post-election audits are established by the State Election Commission as part of the West Virginia Election Code. For any election cycle, if the margin of victory is less than 1%, then a recount of votes is required. All votes cast in the election will be re-counted by the county’s election staff, and any discrepancies will be noted and addressed. Post-election audits are also required if the margin of victory is less than one percent. These audits serve to verify the accuracy of the election results and, if any issues arise, to fix them. The audit will randomly select a set number of voting machines and manually recount the votes from those machines. If a discrepancy is found, then the results of the election may be affected. Both recounts and post-election audits must be completed within one week of the election. During that time, the State Election Commission will determine if the discrepancies are enough to change the overall outcome of the election. If so, a new election may be held in order to ensure the legitimacy of the outcome. Otherwise, the election results will stand as originally counted.

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What are the rules for recounts and post-election audits?

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