# Concession A **concession** is a public statement by a defeated candidate acknowledging that they have lost. It is a norm of American politics and nothing else: it is not a filing, not a withdrawal of candidacy, not a waiver of any remedy, and not required by any state or federal law. The federal government has answered the question directly. The National Archives' Electoral College FAQ asks "What is the legal effect of a concession speech?" and answers: **"None. A candidate's concession speech does not impact the States' duties and responsibilities related to the Electoral College process."** Three consequences follow, and they are worked out in full on [[How a Conceded Election Is Finalized]]: - **The certification machinery does not notice it.** Canvassing boards have a ministerial duty to certify what the returns say; a concession is not on the face of the returns. - **A margin-triggered automatic recount does not stop for it.** What *can* stop one, in some states, is a separate written instrument — a request that the recount not be made — which is a filing with a form and sometimes a deadline, and which a concession neither constitutes nor requires. - **It can still be decisive, indirectly.** In states where only an unsuccessful candidate has standing to contest an election (Virginia, for example), a concession leaves nobody who may bring the claim. In states where any qualified elector or taxpayer may contest (Florida), it extinguishes nothing. ## How often it happens Bright Line Watch coded every defeated major-party House and Senate runner-up in 2020 and 2022 — 884 races. 65% conceded, 8% explicitly refused, and 31% made no public statement at all. Refusals fell from 11% in 2020 to 4% in 2022. Across both cycles 14% of defeated Republicans refused, against 1% of defeated Democrats. ## See also - [[How a Conceded Election Is Finalized]] · [[Election Certification]] · [[Election Canvass]] · [[Recount]] · [[Election Contest]]