24.2-712 - Central absentee voter precincts; counting ballots.
§ 24.2-712. Central absentee voter precincts; counting ballots.
A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the governing body of eachcounty or city may establish one or more central absentee voter precincts inthe courthouse or other public buildings for the purpose of receiving,counting, and recording absentee ballots cast in the county or city. Thedecision to establish any absentee voter precinct shall be made by thegoverning body by ordinance; the ordinance shall state for which electionsthe precinct shall be used. The decision to abolish any absentee voterprecinct shall be made by the governing body by ordinance. Immediatenotification of either decision shall be sent to the State Board and theelectoral board.
B. Each central absentee voter precinct shall have at least three officers ofelection as provided for other precincts. The number of officers shall bedetermined by the electoral board.
C. If any voter brings an unmarked ballot to the central absentee voterprecinct on the day of the election, he shall be allowed to vote it. If anyvoter brings an unmarked ballot to the electoral board on or before the dayof the election, he shall be allowed to vote it, and his ballot shall bedelivered to the absentee voter precinct pursuant to § 24.2-710.
The officers at the absentee voter precinct shall determine any appeal by anyother voter whose name appears on the absentee voter applicant list and whooffers to vote in person. If the officers at the absentee voter precinctproduce records showing the receipt of his application and the certificate ofmailing for the ballot, they shall deny his appeal. If the officers cannotproduce such records, the voter shall be allowed to vote in person at theabsentee voter precinct and have his vote counted with other absentee votes.If the voter's appeal is denied, the provisions of § 24.2-708 shall beapplicable, and the officers shall advise the voter that he may vote onpresentation of a statement signed by him that he has not received anabsentee ballot and subject to felony penalties for making false statementspursuant to § 24.2-1016.
D. Absentee ballots may be processed as required by § 24.2-711 by theofficers of election at the central absentee voter precinct prior to theclosing of the polls but the ballot container shall not be opened and thecounting of ballots shall not begin prior to that time. In the case of punchcard or mark sense ballots to be inserted in electronic counting equipment,the ballot container may be opened and the absentee ballots may be insertedin the counting equipment prior to the closing of the polls in accordancewith procedures prescribed by the State Board, including procedures topreserve ballot secrecy, but no ballot count totals shall be initiated priorto that time.
As soon as the polls are closed in the county or city the officers ofelection at the central absentee voter precinct shall proceed to ascertainand record the vote given by absentee ballot and report the results in themanner provided for counting and reporting ballots generally in Article 4 (§24.2-643 et seq.) of Chapter 6 of this title.
E. The electoral board may provide that the officers of election for acentral absentee voter precinct may be assigned to work all or a portion ofthe time that the precinct is open on election day subject to the followingconditions:
1. The chief officer and the assistant chief officer, appointed pursuant to §24.2-115 to represent the two political parties, are on duty at all times; and
2. No officer, political party representative, or other candidaterepresentative shall leave the precinct after any ballots have been counteduntil the polls are closed and the count for the precinct is completed andreported.
F. The electoral board, with the written agreement of the general registrar,may provide that the central absentee voter precinct will open after 6:00a.m. and at any time before noon on the day of the election provided that theoffice of the general registrar will be open for the receipt of absenteeballots until the central absentee voter precinct is open and that theofficers of election for the central absentee voter precinct obtain theabsentee ballots returned to the general registrar's office for the purposeof counting the absentee ballots at the central absentee voter precinct andprovided further that the central absentee voter precinct is the samelocation as the office of the general registrar.
(1974, c. 428, § 24.1-233.1; 1978, c. 778; 1991, c. 3; 1993, c. 641; 1994,cc. 287, 742; 1998, cc. 549, 572; 2003, c. 1015; 2006, c. 297; 2008, c. 423.)