The third option is to count the total number of ballots cast, before separating them into piles and recounting who they were cast for.
In Philadelphia in the 1930s, the black street preacher F. S. Cherry stormed into African-American churches and pointed at paintings or prints of white Christs, shouting, as one observer recounted, "Who in the hell is this?
"Having lived through so many resurrections and unpredictable falls as well as recounts, who knows how this will fall out," she said.
(Under state law, a losing candidate may request a recount, though who pays for it depends on the size of the margin between the candidates).
Meanwhile, employees recount Jonathan Badeen, who had been there from the very beginning and was rarely mentioned by the press, seeming noticeably discouraged by the article.
Each, in turn, recounts "the who, the what, the why and the way".
"He actually said, 'Bravissima,'" recounted Ms. Jablonko, who has been playing with the orchestra for 18 years.
What do I do?'" recounts Gershon, who resisted the temptation to prescribe flatulence and listened sympathetically.
"For my daughter, it became, 'I'm not good enough,' " recounted Walia, who lives in Baltimore.
