This is an installment in the League of Women Voters of Georgia’s “How Georgia Votes” series. To read previous installments in the “How Georgia Votes” series, follow this link.
By Jackie Killings, President of the League of Women Voters of Georgia
Close elections can be confusing to follow, especially when you hear words like “certification” and “recount” used as if they all happen at once. They do not. In this week’s “How Georgia Votes,” I want to lay out the order in which these steps actually occur, and explain a recent change to Georgia’s recount law that voters will want to understand before a close race this November.
Georgia certifies an election in two stages. First, each county certifies its own results. Georgia law requires counties to finish this no later than 5 p.m. on the Monday after the election. Only after the counties have certified does the Secretary of State certify the official statewide results, by a deadline set seventeen days after the election. Two certifications, county first and state second, with the official statewide result coming at the end.
A recount, when there is one, happens in between. It takes place after a county has certified its results, and before the Secretary of State certifies the statewide total. There are now two ways a recount can occur, and both apply only in very close races, where the margin between the candidates is one-half of one percent or less of the votes cast for that office.
The first is automatic, and it is new for this election. Under a 2026 change to Georgia law, when one of the highest state offices is at the top of the ballot, such as Governor or Lieutenant Governor, and the race finishes within one-half of one percent, the Secretary of State must order a full hand recount of every ballot cast in that race, in every county. No candidate has to ask for it. The Secretary of State directs it within two business days after the county certification deadline.
The second is by request, and it is the long-standing path. In other close contests, including federal races such as United States Senate and United States House, a losing candidate may request a recount when the margin is one-half of one percent or less. That request must be made in writing within two business days after the county results are certified. This is the process Georgia has used for years, and the 2026 change left it in place.
The order is deliberate. Counties finish their official counts first, so that any recount begins from a complete, certified, paper-based record. If a recount changes a result, the county returns are corrected and the results are recertified. Only then does the Secretary of State certify the final statewide outcome. Each step builds on the one before it, which is exactly how a careful process is supposed to work.
So if you are following a close Georgia race this fall, remember the sequence. First the counties certify. Then, in the closest races, a recount follows, automatically for the highest statewide offices, or by a candidate’s request in other contests. Then the Secretary of State certifies the official statewide result. Each step is a check, and each one takes a little time for good reason.
Next in our “How Georgia Votes” series: why final results can take time, and why that patience is a sign the system is working.
Jackie Killings is president of the League of Women Voters of Georgia, a nonpartisan organization that encourages informed and active participation in government and never supports or opposes any candidate or political party. Learn more at lwvga.org and Vote411.org.
Monica Granderson is the President of the League of Women Voters of Marietta-Cobb County. To see information about activities of the local league, along with Cobb-specific voting and elections information, visit lwvmariettacobbga.com.