Pennsylvania has been a swing state for many years, oftentimes finding itself at the center of news stories around presidential elections. As a purple state, we regularly see very close elections at the local, county, and state levels – with some of the candidates running separated by a very small margin of votes. Last year’s U.S. Senate race between Bob Casey and David McCormick was the most recent example.

For a little over 20 years, Pennsylvania has had a recount law on the books. State law requires a mandatory recount when the vote totals between candidates fall within a one-half of one percent margin. The recount that was triggered last fall was the eighth of its kind since 2004. Only four of those recounts were actually carried out, with the most recent recounts happening in 2021 and 2022. Although the Casey-McCormick was never completed given that Casey conceded, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt estimated that it would exceed $1 million of taxpayer funds to complete. 

On a regular basis, election workers in Pennsylvania and across the country are working with small budgets that have limited room for additional costs. When a recount happens, it means that election workers must find the resources to fulfill their legal obligation to count ballots to ensure the results of the election are accurate. This unexpected cost can be a huge challenge for jurisdictions that are already working with limited resources.

One way that election officials in Pennsylvania can be prepared for these unexpected costs is to have support from the federal government. During President Trump’s first term, Congress appropriated around $400 million annually for election infrastructure funding. Unfortunately, it has since dipped, with only $55 million in fiscal year 2024. Congress is currently working on the final appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025, and following the Senate Appropriations Committee agreeing to $75 million last year, it’s crucial that this dollar amount is included in the final package. 

These resources can be used for a number of critical projects, including bolstering both physical and cyber security, hiring staff to support operations, purchasing new equipment, and more. With this funding from the federal government, election workers across the Commonwealth can continue the work of administering safe and secure elections, while also preparing for unexpected expenses like recounts.

While each state is different, many of them have laws around automatic or mandatory recounts. Pennsylvania is one of 24 states and Washington, DC that has a law which automatically triggers a recount if the results of an election are within a specific margin. There are also laws in 41 states and Washington, DC that allow for recounts to be requested. If you asked election workers in these states, I’m sure they’d all say something similar – additional funding for recounts would be hugely helpful. 

Unexpected costs for elections can appear at any time and in any size jurisdiction. For me and my colleagues in Pennsylvania, legally mandated recounts can be a major cost that requires more resources than we are able to budget for. The budgetary challenges of these unexpected costs can be mitigated with Congress’ support of $75 million in election infrastructure funding in fiscal year 2025.

Tom DiBello, a Republican Montgomery County Commissioner, leverages his strong business background to champion common-sense solutions and drive results-oriented improvements in county government.