(noun) the act of tallying voter ballots — again

Many US elections have been subject to recounts, permitted (depending on the state) when a candidate’s margin of victory is narrow — usually less than 1 per cent. But no presidential election in modern memory has been subjected to as many challenges as 2020’s between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Even as the votes were being counted, many polling stations were besieged by Trump-affiliated groups protesting alleged fraud. His campaign had also filed a flurry of law suits to throw out mail-in ballots that arrived after election day. Most failed.

Mr Trump’s legal team twice demanded recounts in the state of Georgia. Neither process changed the result, which delivered a slim victory to Mr Biden. They also triggered recounts in two Wisconsin counties, which resulted in slightly larger totals for Mr Biden.