115.453. Procedure for counting votes for candidates.
Procedure for counting votes for candidates.
115.453. Election judges shall count votes for all candidates in thefollowing manner:
(1) No candidate shall be counted as voted for, except a candidatebefore whose name a cross (X) mark appears in the square preceding the nameand a cross (X) mark does not appear in the square preceding the name ofany candidate for the same office in another column. Except as provided inthis subdivision and subdivision (2) of this section, each candidate with across (X) mark in the square preceding his or her name shall be counted asvoted for;
(2) If cross (X) marks appear next to the names of more candidatesfor an office than are entitled to fill the office, no candidate for theoffice shall be counted as voted for. If more than one candidate is to benominated or elected to an office, and any voter has voted for the samecandidate more than once for the same office at the same election, no votescast by the voter for the candidate shall be counted;
(3) No vote shall be counted for any candidate that is not markedsubstantially in accordance with the provisions of this section. Thejudges shall count votes marked substantially in accordance with thissection and section 115.456 when the intent of the voter seems clear.Regulations promulgated by the secretary of state shall be used by thejudges to determine voter intent. No ballot containing any proper votesshall be rejected for containing fewer marks than are authorized by law;
(4) Write-in votes shall be counted only for candidates for electionto office who have filed a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidatefor election to office with the proper election authority, who shall thennotify the proper filing officer of the write-in candidate prior to 5:00p.m. on the second Friday immediately preceding the election day; exceptthat, write-in votes shall be counted only for candidates for election tostate or federal office who have filed a declaration of intent to be awrite-in candidate for election to state or federal office with thesecretary of state pursuant to section 115.353 prior to 5:00 p.m. on thesecond Friday immediately preceding the election day. No person who filedas a party or independent candidate for nomination or election to an officemay, without withdrawing as provided by law, file as a write-in candidatefor election to the same office for the same term. No candidate who filesfor nomination to an office and is not nominated at a primary election mayfile a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate for the same officeat the general election. When declarations are properly filed with thesecretary of state, the secretary of state shall promptly transmit copiesof all such declarations to the proper election authorities for furtheraction pursuant to this section. The election authority shall furnish alist to the election judges and counting teams prior to election day of allwrite-in candidates who have filed such declaration. This subdivisionshall not apply to elections wherein candidates are being elected to anoffice for which no candidate has filed. No person shall file adeclaration of intent to be a write-in candidate for election to anymunicipal office unless such person is qualified to be certified as acandidate under section 115.346;
(5) Write-in votes shall be cast and counted for a candidate withoutparty designation. Write-in votes for a person cast with a partydesignation shall not be counted. Except for candidates for politicalparty committees, no candidate shall be elected as a write-in candidateunless such candidate receives a separate plurality of the votes withoutparty designation regardless of whether or not the total write-in votes forsuch candidate under all party and without party designations totals amajority of the votes cast;
(6) When submitted to the election authority, each declaration ofintent to be a write-in candidate for the office of United States presidentshall include the name of a candidate for vice president and the name ofnominees for presidential elector equal to the number to which the state isentitled. At least one qualified resident of each congressional districtshall be nominated as presidential elector. Each such declaration ofintent to be a write-in candidate shall be accompanied by a declaration ofcandidacy for each presidential elector in substantially the form set forthin subsection 3 of section 115.399. Each declaration of candidacy for theoffice of presidential elector shall be subscribed and sworn to by thecandidate before the election official receiving the declaration of intentto be a write-in, notary public or other officer authorized by law toadminister oaths.
(L. 1977 H.B. 101 § 12.015, A.L. 1979 S.B. 275, A.L. 1983 S.B. 234, A.L. 1997 S.B. 132, A.L. 1999 H.B. 676, A.L. 2002 S.B. 675, A.L. 2006 S.B. 1014 & 730, A.L. 2008 H.B. 1311)