The right call Kudos to Rita Hart! Iowans deserve an accurate ballot count for the U.S. House in District 2. While an initial recount examined ballots that had not been counted correctly on Election Day, several counties did not conduct the full hand recount necessary to make sure every Iowanâs vote was counted. The recount process in Iowa used just three people per county to examine ballots, making it impossible to hand count every ballot over the course of two weeks. There remain thousands more ballots that have not been examined for voter intent at all. Hart had six days under the Iowa Code to appeal to Iowaâs legal system for redress after the certification. âIf 72 members of the recount boards could not do that in the time they had, then five members of a judicial panel could not do it in less than a week,â stated retired Iowa judge Gary D. McKenrick.