Section R. 168.773 - Preparation of programRule 3.
(1) A program shall be written so as to accurately tabulate a voter's choices for each candidate, office, and measure for which the voter is lawfully entitled to vote, in conformity with the act and these rules.(2) A program shall include an instruction requiring that 2 identical header cards precede the deck of ballot cards for each precinct. The program shall provide that if 2 identical header cards do not appear in front of the ballot cards of a precinct, the counting of ballots for that precinct shall not take place. In programs to be used on a specialized computer, 1 header card is required, unless the function of the header card is performed by the program.(3) An end card shall follow the ballots of each precinct. The program may provide that if a header card contains instructions to the computer that all ballots of the preceding precinct have been counted, a separate end card is not required. In a program to be used in a specialized computer, an end card is not required.(4) A program may be maintained by a generally accepted method, within the computer industry, of input or output or a combination of methods.(5) Two edit listings shall be prepared and, not less than 3 days before the preliminary accuracy test, shall be delivered to the election commission responsible for supplying the program.(6) The election commission responsible for supplying the program shall provide necessary information to the person or company designated to write or prepare the program.(7) The program for an election and a duplicate copy shall be completed and delivered to the election commission responsible for supplying the program not less than 3 days before the preliminary accuracy test. A duplicate is not required where a specialized computer is used.(8) If a program is written to be used on a general purpose computer, the person or company providing the program shall, at the time the program is delivered, submit to the election commission a certificate stating that the program was prepared from all relevant input data, describing the procedures which were used to determine its accuracy, and stating that the program has been written pursuant to the act and these rules.(9) The person preparing the program shall submit to the election commission responsible for supplying the program instructions containing the information and procedures required to operate the program. The election commission shall make the instructions available to the computer operators.(10) The vote tabulation portion of the program shall be written:(a) To reflect the rotation sequence of the candidates' names and ballot position numbers as they appear on the ballot labels in the various precincts.(b) To count valid votes cast by a voter for candidates for an office.(c) To count valid votes cast by a voter for or against any question.(d) So as not to count votes cast by a voter for an office or question if the number of votes cast by a voter exceeds the number which the voter is entitled to vote for on that office or question.(e) To ignore punches in a ballot card in positions where a candidate's name or questions do not appear on the official ballot. These punches shall not have an effect on the ballot.(f) So that the partisan, nonpartisan, and proposal sections of the ballot are considered separate sections of the ballot. The action of a voter in 1 section of the ballot shall not affect the voter's action on another section of the ballot.(11) For a partisan primary election, the vote tabulation section of the program shall be written: (a) To determine if a voter has cast votes for candidates of more than 1 political party.(b) To determine if a voter has cast votes for a candidate of 1 or more political parties and a vote in the "party qualification section" of the ballot.(c) To count the votes when they are recorded by a voter for candidates of 1 political party only where a vote is not recorded in the "party qualification section" of the ballot; or to count the vote when it is recorded by the voter for 1 selection only in the "party qualification section" of the ballot and where a vote is not recorded for 1 or more partisan candidates, as in examples 1, 2, 3, and 4. Example 1: Count a vote for candidates A and D.
Example 2: Count a vote for candidates F and G.
Example 3: Count a vote for party 4.
Example 4: Count a vote for candidate D.
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(d) To reject all votes cast in the partisan section of the ballot and the "party qualification section" of the ballot if votes are cast for candidates of more than 1 political party; or if votes are cast for candidates of 1 or more political parties and 1 or more votes are cast in the "party qualification section" of the ballot; or if more than 1 vote is cast in the "party qualification section" of the ballot, as in examples 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Example 5: Count no votes.
Example 6: Count no votes.
Example 7: Count no votes.
Example 8: Count no votes.
Example 9. Count no votes.
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(12) For a partisan general election, the vote tabulation section of the program shall be written as follows: (a) A vote shall be counted for each candidate of the political party indicated by the voter's straight ticket vote, if any other vote does not appear on the partisan portion of the ballot, as in example 10. Click Here To View Image
Example 10: Count a vote for candidates A and D.
(b) A vote shall not be counted if the voter has voted more than 1 straight ticket vote and another vote does not appear on the partisan section of the ballot, as in example 11. Example 11: Do not count a vote for candidates of any party.
(c) When only 1 candidate is to be elected to an office and the voter has voted a straight party ticket and voted for individual candidates, a vote shall be counted for each of the individual candidates voted for, and for each candidate of the party for which the straight party vote was voted and individual votes for candidates of other parties were not voted, as in examples 12 and 13. Example 12: Count a vote for candidates B and E.
Example 13: Count a vote for candidates B and D.
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(d) When 1 or more candidates are to be elected to an office and the voter has voted 2 or more straight party tickets and the individual votes for partisan candidates, a vote shall be counted for each individual candidate voted for when the number of votes for that office does not exceed the number for which the voter is entitled to vote, as in examples 14, 15, and 16. Example 14: Count a vote for candidates A and D.
Example 15: Do not count a vote for candidates of any party.
Example 16: Count a vote for candidate F.
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(e) When 2 partisan candidates are to be elected to the same office and the voter has voted a straight party ticket for 1 political party and has voted individually for 2 candidates of a different political party for that office, a vote shall be counted for each of the candidates for whom the individual votes were voted, but votes shall not be counted for the candidates of the party indicated by the voter's straight party selection for that office, as in examples 17, 18, and 19. Example 17: Count a vote for candidates A, B, H, and I.
Example 18: Count a vote for candidates D, E, F, and G.
Example 19: Count a vote for candidates C, D, I, and J.
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(f) When 2 partisan candidates are to be elected to the same office and the voter has voted a straight party ticket for 1 political party and that party has 2 candidates for that office, and the voter has voted an individual vote for 1 candidate for that office in a different political party, a vote shall be counted only for the candidate for whom the individual vote was made. Under these conditions, a vote shall not be counted for a candidate for that office by virtue of the voter's straight party selection, as in examples 20, 21, 22, and 23. Example 20: Count a vote for candidate C only.
Example 21: Count a vote for candidates A and B.
Example 22: Count a vote for candidates B and C.
Example 23: Count a vote for candidate E only.
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(g) When 2 partisan candidates are to be elected to the same office and the voter has voted a straight party ticket for 1 political party and that party has only 1 candidate for that office, a vote shall be counted for the party candidate for that office as in example 24, and if the voter has voted for a candidate of a different political party for that office, that vote shall be counted, as in example 25. Example 24: Count a vote for candidate E.
Example 25: Count a vote for candidates B and E. p>
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(h) When a voter has voted a straight party ticket for a political party and has voted individual votes for members of that party only, a vote shall be counted for each candidate of that party. These conditions do not constitute an overvote, as in example 26. Example 26: Count a vote for B and E.
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Mich. Admin. Code R. 168.773