New Hampshire agrees to recount

CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire officials said Friday they will conduct a hand recount of the state's Democratic and Republican presidential primaries at the request of two minor candidates.

Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, who received less than 1.4 percent of the vote, and Republican Albert Howard of Michigan, who was credited with 44 votes statewide, are expected to pay a $2,000 fee to start the process, state officials said.

"Mr. Howard has satisfied the requirements for initiating a statewide recount of the Republican primary," Secretary of State William Gardner said. Officials said they also expected to receive a check from Kucinich, satisfying the recount requirements.

Gardner is preparing an estimate of the recount's cost, which requesting candidates must pay beforehand.

Under state law, if a candidate finished more than 3 percentage points behind the winner, the candidate must pay the cost of a recount. The cost is refunded if the recount finds the requester won or finished within 1 percentage point of the winner.

The top vote-getters in Tuesday's primary were Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, with 39 percent, and Republican Sen. John McCain, with 37 percent.