Several local races are still too close to call. Could we see recounts?

The governor’s race was decided minutes after polls closed on Election Day, but on the local level, we still have quite a few eye-poppingly close contests that have yet to settle.

That includes the race for the Los Angeles City Council’s District 9 seat, which is teetering on fewere than 200 votes, and another City Council race in Costa Mesa’s District 3 that flipped earlier this week by one vote.

While the count is well underway statewide, we still have several thousand ballots to tally. Could some of these close races end up in a recount? Here’s what the rules say.

How recounts start

California does not have a recount threshold. That means no matter how close a race is, nothing will automatically set off a recount.

Instead, our recount system relies on voters. Any registered voter in the state, including a candidate involved, can formally ask for it regardless of how tight a race is.

That request has to be filed with the appropriate election official, such as your county registrar of voters or the secretary of state’s office.

If the race you want recounted is in one county, then the paperwork has to be filed within five days after the official canvass of the vote is finished. For example, in L.A. County, that clock tentatively starts Dec. 1.

You can find that canvass completion date on your county registrar’s election calendar. See here for L.A. County and here for Orange County.

If the race covers more than one county or is voted on statewide, California election law states you have five days to file beginning on the 31st day after the election, which in this case is Dec. 4.

Who pays for it?

Be prepared to cough up some serious cash if you want a recount. The requestor has to front the money.

How much that is depends on how many ballots there are and the method used (more on that below). Recounts can cost tens of thousands of dollars to upwards of $500,000.

A local city race, for example, would likely cost much less than a recount in the governor’s race. You get that money back if the results change. However, the money factor has led some groups to drop the challenge.

In 2024, a Fillmore City Council member dropped a recount inquiry over its more than $20,000 price tag. In 2021, the Long Beach Reform Coalition took election officials to court (and lost) over a “prohibitively expensive” recount of the city’s Measure A votes, which the group called off midway.

What you can ask for

You get to specify the recount method. It can be done electronically, manually or both (a hand count costs more).

You also get to choose the order of the count (by precinct or batch) and which counties start first if the race is in multiple jurisdictions.

Lastly, you can specify what other materials to examine. Keep in mind, every vote gets checked in a recount, so this would be something beyond that.

Above all, the request has to state on whose behalf it was made, including whether it’s for a candidate or a particular position on a measure.

All recounts must start within seven business days after the request is made and be conducted publicly. Election officials will publish a notice at least one day before it starts.