W. Va. Code R. § 153-20-6

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 36, September 6, 2024

Section 153-20-6 - Conducting the Recount

6.1. A quorum of the board of canvassers, shall be present at all times during the recount of the ballots and the recount shall be conducted under their supervision.

6.1.a. If a quorum of the board of canvassers is not present, the recount shall stand adjourned until the next business day.

6.1.b. If the recount cannot be completed in one day, the board shall adjourn until the next business day, and so on from day to day until the recount is completed and the results declared.

6.2. The candidate or officially designated representative or voter or officially designated representative initially requesting a recount as well as the candidate(s) or officially designated representative or governing board or a member's officially designated representative who preserve their right to participate in the recount and a reasonable number of the general public shall be freely admitted to the room where the recount is being conducted. The board shall hold the recount is a room of sufficient size and satisfactory arrangement to permit such observation of the recount.

6.2.a. The official representative of a candidate, voter or governing board member shall have a written and signed statement from the candidate, voter or governing board member designating him or her as the official representative. The name of the representative must be included in the statement. Each candidate, member of a governing board, or voter initiating a recount may appoint only one official representative to act for him or her in his or her absence.

6.2.b. The official representative shall have the right to observe the recount proceedings including observing each ballot as it is read in a hand count process. They may view and examine the tally sheets and ballots, but may not handle the election material.

6.2.c. The candidate or his or her representative or voter or his or her representative or governing board member or his or her representative has the right to question any ballot during the recount.

6.3. The processing and handling of the ballots in a recount shall be conducted by teams consisting of two (2) persons of opposite political parties who shall be appointed and deputized in writing by the board of canvassers.

6.3.a. If a ballot is questioned, the deputized team shall reexamine that ballot and reach their finding. Any ballot questioned shall be marked to provide for its identification at any future contest of the election.

6.3.b. If a majority of the deputized team cannot agree on the intent of the voter's markings on a ballot, it shall remain questioned and the votes for that ballot shall not be recorded.

6.3.c. Only authorized persons may handle the election materials. These persons include the board of canvassers, the county clerk, the employees of the clerk and persons specifically employed to process the election materials and who have been deputized in writing and who have taken an oath to perform faithfully their duties.

6.4. The evidence considered at a recount shall be only that obtainable from the viewing of the election material as it exists or from relevant evidence from the election commissioners, poll clerks or other persons present at the election in which the recount is being conducted. The board may not consider extraneous evidence.

6.5. When ballots are being counted by hand, two deputized teams are required. One of the deputized teams shall read the ballots together. The votes shall be read aloud so that the second deputized team that is recording the vote can hear. Each member of the recording team shall mark separate tally sheets. The recording team should compare their vote count on a scheduled basis (as an example, after every twenty (20) ballots) in order to catch marking errors.

6.6. If a recount has been requested in more than one elected office or special issue, one deputized team may handle only one elected office or special issue recount proceeding at a time. The team shall work with its elected office or special issue recount (one precinct at a time) until that recount is completed. After a recount of a particular elected office or special issue is completed, the teams that worked with the completed recount may be assigned to work with a recount of another elected office or special issue.

6.7. Each team shall count or otherwise work with only one precinct at a time. The precinct materials may not be mixed.

6.7.a. The challenged ballots of each precinct shall be handled as they were during the canvass. The same procedures shall be in place to maintain the secrecy of the ballots and to preserve them for any future contest.

6.8. Each precinct may be recounted only one time, regardless of whether recounted electronically or hand-counted. However, if after recounting a precinct, the results do not match the canvass results the ballots and tallies shall be rechecked at that time by one of the deputized teams in order to discover any error in reading the ballots or marking and computing the tally figures.

6.8.a. The candidate or voter who requested the recount has the right to stop the recount at the conclusion of any precinct by withdrawing his or her request. At this time, the candidate(s) or governing board that has preserved the right to continue may exercise that right, including identifying which precincts need not be hand-counted. Once a person has stopped the recount, he or she may not resume the recount later.

6.9. Before starting the recount, the board shall determine the order in which the precincts will be recounted. The board shall use a logical means of determining the order, either by drawing or using a sequential order, beginning with the lowest number and continuing to the highest number. The determined order should meet with the agreement of the parties to the recount or their designated representatives.

6.10.Before recounting any precincts, the board shall resolve any incorrect recordation or tabulation of votes pursuant to W.Va. Code § 3-4A-29 and announce any adjusted vote totals resulting from that resolution.

W. Va. Code R. § 153-20-6