Okla. Admin. Code § 230:30-19-5

Current through Vol. 41, No. 19, June 17, 2024

Section 230:30-19-5 - Procedure for counting mutilated ballots

(a) In the event that a ballot is mutilated, defaced, or damaged in one of the following ways so that it cannot be read by the voting device, the procedure outlined in (b) of this Section shall be observed.

(1) The ballot is mutilated by the voting device during the counting process.

(2) The ballot is damaged by County Election Board personnel when the ballot envelope is opened.

(3) The ballot is damaged because the voter altered the ballot's original size and/or shape, marked through a bar code, or attempted to correct an error by using correction fluid.

(b) If the ballot was damaged in one of the ways outlined in (a) of this Section, County Election Board members are authorized to mark a substitute ballot to replace the damaged ballot. The substitute ballot shall be marked by two members of the County Election Board of different political affiliations. The substitute ballot shall be marked exactly as the damaged ballot was marked insofar as it is possible. If the ballot is damaged so extensively that the two County Election Board members cannot agree on how the ballot was marked, no substitute ballot shall be marked, and the damaged ballot shall be invalidated. The substitute ballot shall then be inserted into the voting device to be counted. The County Election Board members shall make a written record of their actions and the damaged ballot shall be retained with such record.

(c) The procedure outlined in (b) of this Section shall not be applied to ballots that are marked by the voter with a pencil or with ink that the voting device cannot read or to ballots that are marked outside the voting targets. Such ballots shall be accepted as marked.

Okla. Admin. Code § 230:30-19-5

Added at 10 Ok Reg 2731, eff 7-1-93 ; Amended at 30 Ok Reg 1656, eff 7-15-13