Can a redo be held for a presidential election? (2020)

This article covers subjects specific to the 2020 general election. It has not been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
Click here for more information about our 2020 election coverage.

Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk

Use the buttons below to see Help Desk hubs for other years. 2022 »

Disputed results Presidential election lawsuits and recounts Post-election lawsuits

Frequently asked questions General questions Presidential election Processing/counting mail ballots Results and certification Disputing results • Officeholder transitions

Absentee/mail-in voting analysis Mail-in voting by state, 2016-2018 Mail-in rejection by state, 2016-2018 Uncalled races, 2018 When can states begin counting? Processing, counting, and challenging ballots

Voting in 2020 Absentee/mail-in voting • Early voting • Voter ID Poll opening and closing times Recount laws by state Recount margin requirements by state U.S. Supreme Court actions

Elections by state AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingSubmit

A redo election, also known as a revote or special election remedy, is the process of voiding election results and holding a new election. The specific reasons for calling a redo election vary, but might include deliberate efforts to obscure the results such as electoral fraud or mistakes like a broken voting machine.

No state or county has ever held a presidential redo election. Whether they can is an open question. On July 6, 2017, FiveThirtyEight's Julia Azari wrote, "[W]hether this kind of re-do is allowed for presidential elections is a more complicated matter. Some legal scholars maintain that the language in Article II of the Constitution prevents holding a presidential election again ... Others suggest that there is legal precedent for a presidential re-vote if there were flaws in the process."

Ballotpedia identified two court cases addressing the legality of a presidential redo election:

Fladell v. Palm Beach County Canvassing Board (2000)

Following the 2000 presidential election in Florida between Al Gore (D) and George W. Bush (R), voters in Palm Beach County filed a lawsuit in Florida's 15th Circuit Court before Judge Jorge Labarga. Plaintiffs asked for a redo election, alleging that the layout of the ballot used in Palm Beach County did not comply with state law resulting in voter confusion and mistaken votes. In a previous hearing, the case was split in two with the first hearing to decide whether a presidential redo election was legal. If so, the second hearing would have addressed the facts of the case relating to the ballot layout. During the first hearing, Labarga decided "it is not legally possible to have a re-vote or new election for Presidential electors in Florida."

Labarga based his decision on the U.S. Constitution, federal law, and a 1997 U.S. Supreme Court case, Foster v. Love.

Labarga first cited Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, which reads, in part, as follows: "The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States." He then cited Title 3, Chapter 1 of the U.S. Code, specifically sections 1, 2, and 5, which set a uniform federal Election Day on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The cited laws allow states to establish procedures to account for controversies over election results, but Labarga determined that Florida had no such procedures in its statutes.

Finally, Labarga referenced Foster v. Love, a U.S. Supreme Court case that struck down a Louisiana law that scheduled an election in October before Election Day. Under Louisiana's arrangement, if no candidate received a majority vote in the October election, the top two vote-getters would participate in a second election on Election Day in November. If a candidate in the October election received a majority vote, they would win the election outright. The Supreme Court ruled that this set-up violated federal law because a candidate could win outright before Election Day effectively creating a federal election in Louisiana before the congressionally established Election Day. Justice David Souter wrote that the federal law setting a single Election Day "mandates holding all elections for Congress and the Presidency on a single day throughout the Union." Labarga interpreted this to mean a presidential redo election occurring on some date after Election Day was not feasible in Florida.

Labarga was a Gov. Lawton Chiles (D) appointee. Click here to read his full decision.

Donohue v. Board of Election of the State of New York (1976)

Following the 1976 presidential election in New York between incumbent Gerald Ford (R) and Jimmy Carter (D), Republican and Conservative Party supporters filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of New York asking for a redo election. According to Judge Jacob Mishler's final order, the plaintiffs alleged "that state officials ... committed fraudulent acts in the conduct of voter registration and the subsequent general Presidential election which served to deprive them of their constitutionally protected right to vote."

Mishler did not decide whether a presidential redo election could be called because he dismissed the case after deciding the plaintiffs failed to prove fraud had occurred. Even if fraud occurred, the number of affected votes would not have changed the outcome. However, Mishler wrote, "[F]ederal courts in the past have not hesitated to take jurisdiction over constitutional challenges to the validity of local elections and, where necessary, order new elections. The fact that a national election might require judicial intervention ... if anything, militates in favor of interpreting the equity jurisdiction of the federal courts to include challenges to Presidential elections."

Mishler was a Dwight Eisenhower (R) appointee. Click here to read his full decision.

Next question: Who is the president if election results are unknown by January 20, 2021?

The 2020 election took place against a backdrop of uncertainty. Our readers had questions about what to expect in elections at all levels of government, from the casting of ballots to the certification of final results. Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk was designed to answer those questions.

More frequently asked questions about the 2020 election

Click on a question below to read the answer:

• General election information
  • Who runs elections in the United States?
  • Why do states have different election rules?
  • What methods do states use to prevent election fraud?
  • Do you have to vote for everything on your ballot?
  • What happens if you mark outside the lines or use the wrong pen/pencil?
  • What is a spoiled ballot?
  • What is a write-in candidate?
  • How can I check the status of my ballot?
  • Can I take a ballot selfie?

• Presidential election
  • What happens if a presidential candidate declares victory in the 2020 election before results are final?
  • Can presidential candidates win the election if they have already conceded?
  • What are the steps and deadlines for electing the President of the United States?
  • What happens if there is a tie in the Electoral College?
  • What are faithless electors in the Electoral College?
  • What happens if a presidential nominee becomes incapacitated before the election?
  • Can members of Congress object to Electoral College results?

• Processing and counting absentee/mail-in ballots
  • What is the life cycle of an absentee/mail-in ballot?
  • What happens if I vote by mail and want to change my ballot at a later date?
  • What happens if someone votes by mail and then tries to vote in person?
  • How do states protect and verify absentee/mail-in ballots?
  • How do election workers match signatures?
  • Are results reported on election night coming from in-person or absentee/mail-in votes?
  • Do states report how many mail-in/absentee ballots are outstanding on election night?
  • Do absentee/mail-in ballots take longer to count than in-person ballots?
  • What happens if someone votes by mail-in ballot or absentee ballot and subsequently passes away before Election Day?

• Disputing election results
  • How will election recounts work?
  • How close does an election have to be to trigger an automatic recount?
  • Can a candidate or voter request a recount?
  • Who pays for recounts and contested elections?
  • What are poll watchers?
  • What does it mean to challenge a voter's eligibility, and who can do it?
  • What is a redo election?
  • Who can file election-related lawsuits?
  • What are the reasons to call a redo election?
  • Who can call a redo election?
  • Can a redo be held for a presidential election?

• Election result reporting and certification
  • What happens if candidates declare victory in the 2020 election before results are final?
  • Can candidates win an election if they have already conceded?
  • How and when are election results finalized?
  • How do major media outlets declare winners?

• Transitions of power and taking office
  • Who is the president if election results are unknown by January 20, 2021?
  • Who serves in Congress if election results are unknown by January 2021?
  • Who serves in a state or local government if election results are unknown?
  • What happens if the winning presidential candidate becomes incapacitated before taking office?

• Articles about potential scenarios in the 2020 election
• U.S. Supreme Court actions affecting the November 3, 2020, general election

See also

• Disputing election results
  • Challenging absentee/mail-in ballots, 2020
  • Can candidates challenge the results of the 2020 elections?
  • How will election recounts work in the 2020 elections?

Additional reading

• Congressional Research Service, "Legal Processes for Contesting the Results of a Presidential Election," Oct. 24, 2016
• Matt Vasilogambros, "When Elections Get a Do-Over," Dec. 26, 2018
• Steven Huefner, "Remedying Election Wrongs," accessed Oct. 12, 2020
• Steven Mulroy, "Right Without Remedy? The 'Butterfly Ballot' Case and Court-Ordered Federal Election 'Revotes,'" accessed Oct. 12, 2020
• U.S. Election Assistance Commission, "Recounts and Contests Study," accessed Oct. 12, 2020