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Pennsylvania Statutes § 3062 Count and return of votes in districts in which ballots are used

⤴ Up to Article XII: Preparation for and Conduct of Primaries and Elections

Statute Text

(a) As soon as all the ballots have been properly accounted for, and those outside the ballot box, as well as the "Voting Check List," numbered lists of voters and district register sealed, the election officers shall forthwith open the ballot box, and take therefrom all ballots therein, and at primaries, separate the same according to the party to which they belong. The ballots shall then be counted one by one, and a record made of the total number, and at primaries of the total number cast for each party. Then the judge, under the scrutiny of the minority inspector, or the minority inspector, under the scrutiny of the judge, in the presence of the other officers, clerks, and of the overseers, if any, and within the hearing and sight of the watchers outside the enclosed space, shall read aloud the names of the candidates marked or inserted upon each ballot (at primaries the ballots of each party being read in sequence), together with the office for which the person named is a candidate, and the answers contained on the ballots to the questions submitted, if any, and the majority inspector and clerks shall carefully enter each vote as read, and keep account of the same in ink in triplicate tally papers (triplicate tally papers for each party at primaries) to be provided by the county board of elections for that purpose, all three of which shall be made at the same time . [: Provided, that at all general, municipal and special elections, in entering each vote received by candidates at such election, it shall not be necessary to enter separate tally marks for each vote received by such candidates upon the ballots containing the same votes for the same names, commonly known, and in this act designated as "straight party tickets" for such purpose straight party ticket votes shall be entered carefully as each straight party ticket vote is read on the triplicate tally sheets under the heading "number of votes received upon
The.............................. straight party tickets." Upon completing the number of votes received by each straight party ticket, the number so tallied for each party shall be entered numerically on the extreme right hand margin of each such tally paper.] All ballots, after being removed from the box, shall be kept within the unobstructed view of all persons in the voting room until replaced in the box. No person while handling the ballots shall have in his hand any pencil, pen, stamp or other means of marking or spoiling any ballot. The election officers shall forthwith proceed to canvass and compute the votes cast, and shall not adjourn or postpone the canvass or computation until it shall have been fully completed.
(b) When the vote cast for the different persons named upon the ballots and upon the questions, if any, appearing thereon, shall have been fully recorded in the tally papers and counted, the election officers shall duly certify to the number of votes cast for each person (upon the respective party tickets at primaries), and shall prepare in ink two (2) general returns, showing, in addition to the entries made thereon as aforesaid, the total number of ballots received from the county board (the total of each party at primaries), the number of ballots cast (the number of each party at primaries), the number of ballots (of each party at primaries) declared void, and the number of ballots spoiled and cancelled, and any blank ballots cast, as well as the votes cast for each candidate. At elections, the number of votes cast for each candidate by each political party or political body of which such candidate is a nominee shall be separately stated . [: Provided, that the number of votes received by each set of candidates upon "straight party tickets" shall be entered opposite the names of the respective candidates in a column immediately adjoining upon the left which column shall be of convenient width and shall be headed "number of votes received upon straight party tickets."] In an immediate column to the left thereto, the number of votes received by each candidate upon all ballots [other than "straight party tickets" including all ballots known as "split tickets"] shall be entered, such column to be of convenient width and shall be headed "number of votes [received other than upon straight party tickets." The number of votes received by each candidate as shown in the column headed "number of votes received upon straight party tickets" shall then be added, together with the number of votes received by each candidate as shown in the column headed "number of votes received other than upon straight party tickets" and thereupon, the] received." The total number of votes received by each candidate shall be entered in a column on the extreme right-hand side of the return sheets, which column shall be of convenient width and shall be headed "total number of votes."
Nothing in this section contained shall be construed to authorize or permit the canvassing, counting or tallying ballots with any less degree of strictness than otherwise required by law . [, The intention of this section being to dispense with the individual tally marks only so far as the so-called "straight party tickets" are concerned, and all other operations of tallying, counting, canvassing and announcing the votes shall proceed as near as may be in accordance with the other provisions of this act.]
(c) In returning any votes cast for any person whose name is not printed on the ballot, the election officers shall record any such names exactly as they were written [,] or stamped [or applied to] upon the ballot [by sticker] . In districts in which paper ballots or ballot cards are electronically tabulated, stickers or labels may not be used to mark ballots. A vote cast by means of a sticker or label affixed to a ballot or ballot card shall be void and may not be counted.

History

Amended by P.L. TBD 2019 No. 77 , § 3.2 , eff. 10/31/2019 .

1937, June 3, P.L. 1333, art. XII, § 1222. Amended 1961, July 14, P.L. 644, § 1, effective 6/1/1961 .

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