There has understandably been a ton of chatter in the days following the election, but this one is a real doozy: After a week of states finalizing vote tallies, some people think Vice President Kamala Harris is planning to call for an election recount. So, what’s the story behind this theory?
Well, it can be traced back to the website for the Harris Victory Fund, a joint campaign between the Harris For President campaign fundraising committee, the Democratic National Committee, and Democratic state parties. Internet users recently noticed the website now has a fine print statement on its donation page that implies that a portion of donations may go toward a recount fund. The statement reads, “$3,300/$5,000 from a person/PAC will be allocated to Harris for President’s Recount Account,” insinuating the Harris campaign may be planning to call for a recount.Â
Her Campus reached out to the Harris campaign for comment about the statement on the fundraising page, as well as for confirmation on whether Harris plans to call for a recount, but didn’t hear back in time for publication. The Harris Victory Fund website does not provide any additional information about when or if the recount effort will take place, nor who would lead it.Â
The question of whether a recount will occur comes at a time when concerns over voter fraud are dominating news outlets and social media. People have reported numerous questionable incidents in this election cycle: Ballot boxes were set on fire in Oregon, Washington, and Arizona in the days leading up to the presidential election. Voters in key swing states such as Georgia took to social media talking about their absentee ballots being delayed or not sent out. In Miami-Dade County, Florida, a full ballot box containing early voter ballots was found on the side of the road (when taken to a police station, election staff verified that the box was not tampered with). In Milwaukee — in a state where president-elect Donald Trump won by a rough margin of 30,000 votes — around 30,000 ballots had to be recounted by hand after Election Day due to broken ballot machines.Â
With all of this said, it’s understandable why many may be quick to believe Harris will call for a recount. However, it is currently looking unlikely that she will, considering she already conceded the election in a speech on Nov. 6 at her alma mater, Howard University.Â
However, this doesn’t mean Harris is stepping back from the fight for what she stood for in her campaign — after all, as she said in her concession speech, “This is not the time to throw up our hands — this is the time to roll up our sleeves.” Harris’s campaign page states that her team is keeping a close eye on “key Senate and House races still too close to call” to ensure that those states “see the election across the finish line.” As of Nov. 13, the Republican party has won the majority in the Senate with 52 seats. The race for the House has not been called yet by the Associated Press. However, recent reports show the House may be red as well.Â
It’s always possible that the recount fund is in place as a contingency plan — just in case it’s needed as the final election results roll in. As with much of the country’s future, only time will tell.