21-A §698. Packaging and return of ballots and lists
Title 21-A: ELECTIONS
Chapter 9: CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS
Subchapter 2: ELECTION PROCEDURE
Article 5: MARKING, COUNTING AND HANDLING OF BALLOTS
§698. Packaging and return of ballots and lists
As soon as the election return has been prepared, the election officials shall perform the following duties. [1985, c. 161, §6 (NEW).]
1. Paper ballots wrapped. The election clerks shall wrap the tabulation of the count for each lot of ballots around that lot and secure it. Referendum ballots must be wrapped separately with their own tabulations unless the referendum ballot is combined with the candidate ballot. The tabulations must be signed by the warden and the 2 election clerks who counted that ballot lot.
A. [1997, c. 436, §103 (RP).]
[ 2001, c. 310, §44 (AMD) .]
2. Ballots replaced in containers.
[ 1993, c. 473, §24 (RP); 1993, c. 473, §46 (AFF) .]
2-A. Used ballots placed in tamper-proof containers. The election clerks shall place the used state ballots, including spoiled ballots, defective ballots, void ballots, used absentee ballots, used absentee envelopes with the applicable applications attached, envelopes containing challenge certificates, and the official tally tape from the electronic tabulating system in one or more tamper-proof ballot containers. The ballot containers must be furnished by the Secretary of State. Ballots and election materials for municipal elections conducted at the same time as a state election must be sealed separately from state ballots and other state election materials. If municipalities wish to use tamper-proof containers to seal municipal election materials, they must obtain the containers and locks at their own expense.
If a state-supplied tamper-proof container or lock becomes defective, lost or destroyed, the clerk must apply in writing to the Secretary of State for another. The Secretary of State shall supply or approve a replacement at the expense of the municipality.
A tamper-proof ballot container must be locked and sealed with a numbered seal before leaving the precinct. The lock and seal numbers must correlate with a certificate identifying the person sealing the container and the time of the sealing. The locks, seals and identifying certificates must be furnished by the Secretary of State.
A. Transfer and resealing of the ballots to other containers for permanent storage must be done not less than 2 months following the election. The municipal clerk shall make the transfer in the presence of one or more witnesses. The containers must be securely sealed. [2005, c. 568, §17 (AMD).]
[ 2005, c. 568, §17 (AMD) .]
2-B. Unused ballots placed in containers. At the close of the polls, all unused, unsealed absentee and regular ballots must be canceled by a physical mark unless all ballots are used in the course of the election. All sealed ballots must remain sealed. All unused ballots, including both the unsealed and the sealed ballots, must be placed in the containers in which the regular ballots were delivered. The containers containing the unused ballots must be clearly marked to indicate that the containers contain unused ballots. These ballots must be stored separately from the used ballots.
[ 2001, c. 310, §46 (AMD) .]
3. Incoming voting lists packed separately. The warden and one election clerk from each of the major parties shall sign the incoming voting list certification as soon as the names of all persons who have voted, including persons who have voted by absentee ballot, have been checked off. The election clerks shall place the incoming voting list in a separate package outside the containers of used and unused ballots and seal the package with the signed incoming voting list certification. The incoming voting list includes any certificates entitling voters to be placed on the incoming voting list and any supplemental incoming voting list, where applicable, pursuant to section 122, subsection 7. The municipal clerk shall keep these incoming voting lists sealed for 5 business days after the election or until the time for any recount conducted under section 737-A, contested election or appeal has passed, whichever is longer. At the end of the 5th business day after the election, if the municipal clerk verifies that a recount has not been requested, the municipal clerk shall unseal the incoming voting list and keep it in the clerk's office as a public record for the time required pursuant to section 23.
[ 2007, c. 515, §6 (AMD) .]
4. Ballots and lists returned. The warden shall deliver the ballots and lists to the clerk immediately upon conclusion of the ballot count. In a municipality that has an island voting district, the warden must deliver the ballots and lists within 24 hours after the polls have closed.
[ 1999, c. 426, §22 (AMD) .]
5. Two or more voting districts. In municipalities having 2 or more voting districts where absentee ballots are counted at a place other than the voting district, all absentee ballots, applications and envelopes may be packed together in the same container, which shall then be sealed publicly.
A. The portions of subsections 2-A and 2-B that deal with absentee ballots do not apply to municipalities with 2 or more voting districts where absentee ballots are counted separately. [2003, c. 584, §10 (AMD).]
[ 2003, c. 584, §10 (AMD) .]
6. Ballot security. The municipal clerk shall take appropriate measures to ensure the safety and security of all ballots before, during and after the election. Ballots and voting equipment must be secured in an area that is accessible only by the clerk or the clerk's designee.
[ 2003, c. 447, §24 (AMD) .]
SECTION HISTORY
1985, c. 161, §6 (NEW). 1985, c. 357, §§5,19 (AMD). 1985, c. 614, §19 (AMD). 1987, c. 188, §6 (AMD). 1993, c. 473, §§24-26 (AMD). 1993, c. 473, §46 (AFF). 1995, c. 459, §66 (AMD). 1997, c. 436, §103 (AMD). 1999, c. 426, §22 (AMD). 2001, c. 310, §§44-47 (AMD). 2001, c. 516, §11 (AMD). 2003, c. 447, §§23,24 (AMD). 2003, c. 584, §10 (AMD). 2005, c. 453, §56 (AMD). 2005, c. 568, §17 (AMD). 2007, c. 515, §6 (AMD).