The Elections Commission recommends that the recount be conducted by the Board of Canvassers that confirmed the original votes.

“However, in the event one of the original members is unavailable when the recount is scheduled to begin, other qualified individuals may be appointed to fill the temporary vacancy. If a member of the Board of Canvassers is unavailable for the recount, the clerk should be notified immediately and a list of qualified replacements composed before the recount begins,” the WEC handbook said. Tabulators can also be hired by the Board of Canvassers to help, and the WEC recommends hiring “election inspectors who worked the polls on Election Day (to) serve as tabulators.”

The tabulators can decide to recount the ballots by hand or they can use voting equipment.

There is an eight-step process for a recount, and several of those eight steps include multiple steps within them.

1. Polling lists are reconciled. The Board of Canvassers must confirm “the total number of voters, the number of absentee votes recorded, and identify any irregularities appearing on these lists.”