24.2-638 - Voting equipment to be in plain view; officers and others not permitted to see actual voting; unlocking counter compartment of equipment, etc.
§ 24.2-638. Voting equipment to be in plain view; officers and others notpermitted to see actual voting; unlocking counter compartment of equipment,etc.
During the election, the exterior of the voting and counting equipment andevery part of the polling place shall be in plain view of the officers ofelection.
No voting or counting equipment shall be removed from the plain view of theofficers of election or from the polling place at any time during theelection and through the determination of the vote as provided in § 24.2-657.However, an electronic voting device that is so constructed as to be easilyportable may be taken outside the polling place pursuant to subsection A of §24.2-649 and to assist a voter age 65 or older or physically disabled so longas: (i) the voting device remains in the plain view of two officers ofelection representing two political parties or, in a primary election, twoofficers of election representing the party conducting the primary, providedthat if the use of two officers for this purpose would result in too fewofficers remaining in the polling place to meet legal requirements, theequipment shall remain in plain view of one officer who shall be either thechief officer or the assistant chief officer; (ii) the voter casts his ballotin a secret manner unless the voter requests assistance pursuant to §24.2-649; and (iii) there remain sufficient officers of election in thepolling place to meet legal requirements. After the voter has completedvoting his ballot, the officer or officers shall immediately return thevoting device to its assigned location inside the polling place. The machinenumber, the time that the machine was removed and the time that it wasreturned, the number on the machine's public counter before the machine wasremoved and the number on the same counter when it was returned, the names ofthe voters who used the machine while it was removed provided that secrecy ofthe ballot is maintained in accordance with guidance from the State Board,and the name or names of the officer or officers who accompanied the machineshall be recorded on the statement of results. If a polling place fails torecord the information required in the previous sentence, or it is laterproven that the information recorded was intentionally falsified, the localelectoral board shall dismiss at a minimum the chief officer or the assistantchief officer, or both, as appropriate; and shall dismiss any other officerof election who is shown to have caused the failure to record the requiredinformation intentionally or by gross negligence or to have intentionallyfalsified the information. The dismissed officers shall not be allowedthereafter to serve as an officer or other election official anywhere in theCommonwealth. In the case of an emergency that makes a polling place unusableor inaccessible, voting or counting equipment may be removed to analternative polling place pursuant to the provisions of subsection D of §24.2-310.
The equipment shall be placed at least four feet from any table where anofficer of election is working or seated. The officers of election shall notthemselves be, or permit any other person to be, in any position or near anyposition that will permit them to observe how a voter votes or has voted.
One of the officers shall inspect the face of the voting device after eachvoter has cast his vote and verify that the ballots on the face of the deviceare in their proper places and that the device has not been damaged. Duringan election the door or other covering of the counter compartment of thevoting or counting device shall not be unlocked or open or the countersexposed except for good and sufficient reasons, a statement of which shall bemade and signed by the officers of election and attached to the statement ofresults. No person shall be permitted in or about the polling place exceptthe voting equipment custodian, vendor or contractor technicians, and otherpersons authorized by this title.
(Code 1950, § 24-305; 1962, c. 260; 1970, c. 462, § 24.1-215; 1985, c. 458;1993, c. 641; 2004, cc. 978, 993, 1006, 1010; 2009, c. 494.)