the.com/recount
Democracy's way of asking 'are you sure?' one more time, by hand.
means To count something again, especially votes, to check that the first count was correct — or to tell a story of events in detail.
from A straightforward stack of parts: the prefix 're-' (again, back) plus 'count,' which traces through Old French 'conter' back to Latin 'computare' — to calculate, to sum up. 'Recount' simply means 'to count again,' though English quietly built a second, unrelated-feeling sense alongside it — to 're-tell' a tale — since both counting and recounting a story involve laying events out one by one, in order.
- origin
- first recorded election recount disputes date to ancient Athens
- margin trigger
- usually automatic only if votes differ under 0.5 percent
- famous case
- florida 2000 recount decided by supreme court, not voters
- irony
- rarely flips outcomes, mostly confirms the original count