Oklahoma Regulations § 230:45-3-53 Instructions for electronic recount

Regulation Text

(a) Preparing to count. When the Judge rules that the ballots have been properly preserved and that the recount can be performed, the Secretary shall break the seal on each ballot transfer box from the first precinct to be recounted. In the event that a ballot transfer box contains ballots from more than one entity, the Secretary shall assign each opened ballot transfer case to a County Election Board employee or to a Precinct Official to sort and separate the ballots containing the race or question to be recounted. All other ballots for that precinct shall be replaced in the ballot transfer box. Ballots from a large precinct may be divided between two or more voting devices if necessary to speed the recount process. The Secretary shall break the seal on the ballot transfer box for the next precinct to be recounted as soon as all the ballots from the first precinct have been sorted and shall assign the opened transfer case to a County Election Board employee or a Precinct Official to sort and separate the ballots containing the race or question to be recounted. This process shall be repeated as necessary until all the ballots to be recounted have been sorted and separated for counting.

(b) Counting the ballots. After the preparations described in (a) of this Section have been completed, the Secretary shall transfer the ballots to the person assigned to operate the voting device to begin processing the ballots one at a time through the voting device. If the voting device returns a ballot, the operator shall accept the ballot and continue. See 230:35-5-162 . A Watcher may object in writing to actions taken by the person operating the voting device. After all the ballots for the first precinct have been processed through the voting device, the person operating the voting device shall close the polls on the device and shall remove the election results storage medium from the voting device, verify the storage medium is properly labeled for the precinct just recounted, and secure the storage medium. The operator shall remove the recounted ballots from the ballot box and replace them in the original ballot transfer case for that precinct. The ballots shall be secured as described in (d) of this section. The operator then shall accept ballots for the next precinct from the Secretary and shall prepare the voting device to count that precinct. When the device is ready, the operator shall begin processing the ballots.

(c) Concluding the recount. When all the ballots for all precincts included in the recount have been recounted, the operator of each voting device used shall ensure that all ballots have been removed from the ballot box of each voting device used. The County Election Board meeting shall be recessed and the members and employees of the County Election Board immediately shall return to the County Election Board office to update the election results and print Official Certification Reports, and then to certify the results of the recounted race or question.

(d) Securing the ballots. After all the ballots containing the race or question being recounted have been scanned , the ballots shall be replaced in the original ballot transfer box or boxes for that precinct. The County Election Board members and the operator each shall sign a short turquoise State Election Board seal. The members of the County Election Board, including the Secretary, shall sign the seal. The Secretary shall check the "Other" box on the seal and shall indicate in the space provided that the box was resealed after a recount. The ballots shall be returned to the County Election Board office to be stored with other election materials as required by law. However, if any ballots will be involved in another recount at a later time, the ballot transfer box or boxes containing those ballots shall be returned to the custody of the County Sheriff until time for the next recount to begin.

Source

Added at 10 Ok Reg 2751, eff 7-1-93 ; Amended at 11 Ok Reg 321, eff 11-1-93 (emergency) ; Amended at 11 Ok Reg 1593, eff 6-1-94 ; Amended at 30 Ok Reg 1722, eff 7-15-13

History

Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 36, Issue 24, September 3, 2019 , eff. 9/16/2019

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