How to Contest Election Results

Errors and corruption are unfortunately sometimes seen in our democratic process. Everyone has a right to challenge an election if they believe that serious mistakes or outside reasons have influenced the voting. There is a basic procedure in place to contest election results at the state and national level.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Contest Election Results

1. Contact the Secretary of State where you believe there was a problem with the election. You'll need to begin this process shortly after the election ends. In some states, you can file a general complaint and later return with specific information.

2. Determine what you'd like to see as a result of your complaint. You can contest election results by asking for a recount in a specific or general geographic area, or you can ask for a new election.

3. Fill out the official paperwork for your complaint. Make your complaint as detailed as possible. If you want a hand recount of ballots in your area, you must state this plainly, because no action can be taken that is not on the complaint.

4. Gather as many signatures for your petition as possible. Most states have a minimum amount of signatures that must be met for a complaint to be processed. This amount varies by the size of the community in which you're contesting election results, but remember that everyone who signs the petition must provide a valid address and be a registered voter.

5. Ask a candidate for support. If you believe the election was mishandled in a way that affects who won the election, ask the candidate to sign your petition and support the recount.

6. Certify the petition with your town clerk's office. The clerk is responsible for delivering the paperwork to contest an election to the appropriate state agencies.

7. Consider filing a lawsuit. If you believe the Registrar of Voters mishandled the election, then you may be able to contest the election in court. You'll need to contact a lawyer and probably file the lawsuit with the state's Supreme Court.

Tips & Warnings

• In most states, if you want to contest a presidential election, you must file the paperwork by the end of the business day after the election. Local elections may extend this period up to a week.
• Even if your election contest doesn't affect the current election, it may change how elections are held in the next cycle.
• You may also want to write letters to local newspapers to raise awareness of your claims.