Paper ballot vote recounts are a premium form of checks and balances in the election system. But less than half the states allow voters to request recounts after elections, and only 15 states require that the paper audit be the vote of record in a recount. In New Hampshire all of our recounts are conducted by hand, and we conduct more recounts than any other state in the nation.
An Electionline.org report quotes Assistant Secretary of State Tom Manning:
Due to New Hampshire's laws and traditions, the state has more centrally conducted recounts than virtually any other state. It is not unusual to recount one quarter of the ballots in the state in one election year.
With our election day registration, high percentage of hand counted polling places, and accessible recounts, New Hampshire's exemplar election system provides integrity and security for voting in the nation's first in the nation primary.
All other considerations pale in comparison.
Sources
NASS SURVEY SUMMARY AND HIGHLIGHTS: How States Are Spending Federal
Election Reform Dollars
EAC: FINAL REPORT OF THE 2004 ELECTION DAY SURVEY
United States Government Accountability Office Report to Congressional Requesters
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