KANSAS CITY, Mo. — KSHB 41 News anchor Caitlin Knute is interested in hearing from you. Send her an e-mail.
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Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab announced Wednesday that six midterm races triggered a mandatory close-race audit due to result margins separated by 1% or less.
Those races include governor, secretary of state, attorney general, Kansas House of Representatives District 27, Kansas House of Representatives District 40 and Kansas House of Representatives District 117.
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But what is the difference between a recount, an audit and a close-race audit?
KSHB 41 News anchor Caitlin Knute breaks those answers down below.
Recount
When it comes to a recount, it is not automatic in Kansas. Any candidate can request a recount in one or more counties.
The state only pays if the race is close — a margin of half a percentage point or less — and only in general elections, not primary elections.
Costs can be refunded if the recount changes the outcome of the election.
The person requesting the recount can specify which counties or precincts and the method of the recount.
The deadline to finish the recount is 5 p.m. on the fifth day after the request was filed.
Audit
Keep in mind a recount can only happen after a post-election audit, which is a routine step in Kansas and is not the same as a recount.
Before votes can be certified, an election audit must be completed in 1% of a county's precincts.
Take Johnson County, for example. Johnson County has more than 580 precincts — approximately six of those will be randomly selected and audited.
The audit has to happen at least 48 hours before the board of canvassers meets to certify the election results.
Close-race audit
If there is a close race (within 1%), the county election office must conduct an audit in an additional 10% of all county precincts in that race.
So again, using Johnson County as an example, that would mean an audit of 58 precincts.
Again, this has to be done before the county canvass certifies the county results, a process that is public and must be completed between six and 13 days following the election.
Once that is completed, a recount request can be made, but it must come no later than 5 p.m. the day after the election is certified.
So, it is possible you could wait 13 days to see results certified.
A request for a recount could be made on the 14th day, and the official results might not be in for another five days — that totals 19 days after an election.
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