A recount repeats the question because agreement about counting matters beyond agreement about the winner.

Recounting is not only about the outcome; it is about maintaining the shared belief that counting means something. Even when the total does not change, the willingness to check is what allows everybody to accept the number afterwards. Confidence in the process is a separate asset from the result.

So when a decision is contested, be willing to show the work even if you are sure. Reopening a calculation, letting someone audit a process, explaining how a conclusion was reached, all cost time and buy legitimacy. Refusing to check because you know you are right is how people lose trust they were entitled to.