Updated: 9:08 p.m. Dec. 14 - This story has been updated to reflect to correct the deadline for a recount to be requested.  Although City Secretary Jamie Lee Case said she has not received a formal request for a recount, San Marcos mayoral candidate Ruben Becerra said on election night, Dec. 13, that he plans to request a recount of the runoff election's results. Unofficial results indicate John Thomaides won the runoff election for mayor by 42 votes with 1,727 votes, or 50.62 percent of the votes, to Becerra's 1,685 votes, or 49.38 percent. Here are five things to know about recounting election results. 1. The canvass of the results would not be delayed by a recount. Recounts do not delay canvassing, but the entity performing the canvass—which in this case would be the city of San Marcos—must make a note on the canvass that a recount has been requested, according to the website of the Texas Secretary of State. The city is scheduled to canvass the votes at a meeting Dec. 21 at 6 p.m. at City Hall. 2. The candidate requesting a recount is responsible for paying for the recount, unless the result of the election is changed by the recount. According to the SOS website, a candidate requesting a recount is responsible for providing a deposit to cover the cost of the recount. In this case, Becerra would be charged $100 for each precinct in which an electronic voting system was used. All early voting is considered one precinct in cases such as this, so Becerra would be responsible for covering the costs of recounting ballots at the 19 precincts involved in the election, plus the early voting ballots—which would all be considered one precinct—for a total of 20 precincts. City Clerk Jamie Lee Case quoted Becerra a cost of $1,900 for a recount on Wednesday morning, because the city's copy of the state election code omitted any mention of the early voting ballots being counted as their own precinct or any additional charges associated with a request for a recount. Case said she will hold to the $1,900 cost, and she does not expect the total cost of the recount to exceed that amount. If it does, Becerra will be billed for the additional costs. Becerra would be refunded any remaining money after all recount expenses have been incurred. If the result of the election was changed by the recount, Becerra would be refunded his entire deposit, and the expense of the recount would be charged to the city. 3. The recount committee would be composed of at least four people, but could include five. Thomaides and Becerra would each be allowed to appoint two members to the recount committee, and Mayor Daniel Guerrero could appoint another member. Those members of the committee can not have served as an vote counter during the runoff. Committee members could receive up to $10 per hour for their work, which would be paid through the $1,900 deposit Becerra will have to submit to the city to cover the total cost of the recount. 4. In this case, the deadline for Becerra to request a recount is Dec. 23 at 5 p.m. According to the SOS website, the deadline to request a recount is the later of five days after the election or two days after the canvass of the election. Because city offices will be closed on Dec. 23—the second day after the canvass—the city originally thought the deadline would be the next day city offices are open, Dec. 27. But, because Dec. 23 is not a nationally recognized holiday, the deadline will remain Dec. 23 at 5 p.m. 5. In Cowan’s 31 years as county elections administrator, only one election result has ever been changed by a request for a recount, she said. In 1999, Rick Green won the race for State Representative of District 45, which comprises Hays, Blanco and Caldwell counties. Initial results showed Democrat Alec Rhodes defeated Green, but a recount was requested. The recount ultimately reversed the initial results, and Green served in the Legislature until being unseated by Patrick Rose in 2002. “I’m definitely the first to admit I’m not perfect,” Cowan said. “We all make mistakes, but the whole thing is that recounts we’ve had, overall, don’t change [the initial results] at all.”