16-641

16-641. Retally of vote; lever voting machine

A. When it appears that there is a discrepancy in the election returns in an election precinct, the board of supervisors or other authority in charge of elections shall summon the election officers of the precinct, and the election officers in the presence of such authorities shall make a record of the number of the seal and number of the protective counter, open the counter compartment of the machine and, without unlocking the machine against voting, shall retally the vote cast thereon.

B. Before making the retally the authorities shall give notice in writing to each local candidate whose name appears on the election ballot, and to the chairman of each party or independent party having candidates on the ballot, and each of the candidates and two representatives of each of the parties may be present at the retally.

C. If, upon the retally, it is found that the original tally of the returns has been correctly made from the machine and that the discrepancy still remains unaccounted for, the board of supervisors or other authority, in the presence of the officers of the election, the candidates and the representatives of the several parties, shall unlock the voting and counting mechanism of the machine and thoroughly examine and test the machine to determine the reason for the discrepancy, if any, in the returns from the machine. Before testing the counters they shall be reset at zero, after which each counter shall be operated at least one hundred times.

D. After completion of the examination and test the board of supervisors or other authority in charge of the election shall then and there prepare a statement in writing, giving in detail the result. The statement shall be witnessed by the persons present and shall be filed with the board of supervisors or other authority in charge of elections.

E. If the results of a retally conducted by authority of the court or under the provisions of this section shall establish discrepancies in the official returns of any precinct, the necessary corrections shall be made and shall be considered part of the official election returns.