Section 168.792 - Voting machines; discrepancy in return; investigation, re-canvass procedure, petition.
MICHIGAN ELECTION LAW (EXCERPT)
Act 116 of 1954
168.792 Voting machines; discrepancy in return; investigation, re-canvass procedure, petition.
Sec. 792.
Whenever it shall appear that there is a discrepancy in the returns of any election district, the board of canvassers of the county, if it be a general election at which county or state officers are elected, or the board of canvassers of the city, village or township, if it be a city, village or township election at which city, village or township officers only are elected, or the authorized representatives of such board of canvassers, shall make a record of the number of the seal, if any, the number on the protective counter, if one is provided, and shall open the counter compartment of said machine, and without unlocking the machine against voting, shall re-canvass the vote cast thereon. Before making such re-canvass, the said board of canvassers shall give sufficient notice in writing to the clerk of the time and place where said re-canvass is to be made. If upon such re-canvass it shall be found that the original canvass of the returns has been correctly made from the machine, and that the discrepancy still remains unaccounted for, the clerk or authorized assistant, in the presence of the inspectors of election and the said board of canvassers, shall unlock the voting and counting mechanism of said machine and shall proceed to thoroughly examine and test the machine to determine and reveal the true cause or causes, if any, of the discrepancy in the return from said machine. Before testing the machine, the counters in the party row or column in which the discrepancy is alleged to have occurred shall be set at zero after which each of such counters shall be operated at least 100 times. After the completion of said examination, the clerk or authorized assistant shall then and there prepare a statement in writing giving the result thereof, and said statement shall be witnessed by the persons present and shall be filed with the board of canvassers. Any candidate voted for at any election who conceives himself aggrieved on account of any fraud, error or mistake in the canvass of the vote by the inspectors or in the returns made by the inspectors of election, may file a written petition for a recount with the board of canvassers, as provided in cases where voting machines are not used.
History: 1954, Act 116, Eff. June 1, 1955
Popular Name: Election Code