(a) The initialcounting of official ballots shall be conducted according to the followingprinciples:
(1) Vote counting at theprecinct shall occur immediately after the polls close and shall be continuousuntil completed.
(2) Vote counting at theprecinct shall be conducted with the participation of precinct officials of allpolitical parties then present. Vote counting at the county board of electionsshall be conducted in the presence or under the supervision of board members ofall political parties then present.
(3) Any member of thepublic wishing to witness the vote count at any level shall be allowed to doso. No witness shall interfere with the orderly counting of the officialballots. Witnesses shall not participate in the official counting of officialballots.
(4) Provisional officialballots shall be counted by the county board of elections before the canvass.If the county board finds that an individual voting a provisional officialballot is not eligible to vote in one or more ballot items on the officialballot, the board shall not count the official ballot in those ballot items,but shall count the official ballot in any ballot items for which theindividual is eligible to vote. Eligibility shall be determined by whether thevoter is registered in the county as provided in G.S. 163‑82.1 andwhether the voter is qualified by residency to vote in the election district asprovided in G.S. 163‑55 and G.S. 163‑57. If a voter was properlyregistered to vote in the election by the county board, no mistake of anelection official in giving the voter a ballot or in failing to comply withG.S. 163‑82.15 or G.S. 163‑166.11 shall serve to prevent thecounting of the vote on any ballot item the voter was eligible by registrationand qualified by residency to vote.
(5) Precinct officialsshall provide a preliminary report of the vote counting to the county board ofelections as quickly as possible. The preliminary report shall be unofficialand has no binding effect upon the official county canvass to follow.
(6) In counties that useany certified mechanical or electronic voting system, subject to the samplecounts under G.S. 163‑182.1 and subdivision (1a) of subsection (b) ofthis section, and of a hand‑to‑eye recount under G.S. 163‑182.7and G.S. 163‑182.7A, a board of elections shall rely in its canvass onthe mechanical or electronic count of the vote rather than the full hand‑to‑eyecount of the paper ballots or records. In the event of a material discrepancybetween the electronic or mechanical count and a hand‑to‑eye countor recount, the hand‑to‑eye count or recount shall control, exceptwhere paper ballots or records have been lost or destroyed or where there isanother reasonable basis to conclude that the hand‑to‑eye count isnot the true count.
(b) The State Board ofElections shall promulgate rules for the initial counting of official ballots.All election officials shall be governed by those rules. In promulgating thoserules, the State Board shall adhere to the following guidelines:
(1) For each votingsystem used, the rules shall specify the role of precinct officials and of thecounty board of elections in the initial counting of official ballots.
(1a) For optical scan anddirect record electronic voting systems, and for any other voting systems inwhich ballots are counted other than on paper by hand and eye, those rulesshall provide for a sample hand‑to‑eye count of the paper ballotsor paper records of a sampling of a statewide ballot item in every county. Thepresidential ballot item shall be the subject of the sampling in a presidentialelection. If there is no statewide ballot item, the State Board shall provide aprocess for selecting district or local ballot items to adequately sample the electorate.The State Board shall approve in an open meeting the procedure for randomlyselecting the sample precincts for each election. The random selection ofprecincts for any county shall be done publicly after the initial count ofelection returns for that county is publicly released or 24 hours after thepolls close on election day, whichever is earlier. The sample chosen by theState Board shall be of one or more full precincts, full counts of mailedabsentee ballots, and full counts of one or more one‑stop early votingsites. The size of the sample of each category shall be chosen to produce astatistically significant result and shall be chosen after consultation with astatistician. The actual units shall be chosen at random. In the event of amaterial discrepancy between the electronic or mechanical count and a hand‑to‑eyecount, the hand‑to‑eye count shall control, except where paperballots or records have been lost or destroyed or where there is anotherreasonable basis to conclude that the hand‑to‑eye count is not thetrue count. If the discrepancy between the hand‑to‑eye count andthe mechanical or electronic count is significant, a complete hand‑to‑eyecount shall be conducted. The sample count need not be done on election night.
(2) The rules shallprovide for accurate unofficial reporting of the results from the precinct tothe county board of elections with reasonable speed on the night of theelection.
(3) The rules shallprovide for the prompt and secure transmission of official ballots from thevoting place to the county board of elections.
The State Board shall direct thecounty boards of elections in the application of the principles and rules inindividual circumstances. (2001‑398, s. 3; 2005‑2, s. 5; 2005‑323,s. 5(b); 2006‑192, s. 7(b); 2006‑264, s. 76(c).)
(a) The initialcounting of official ballots shall be conducted according to the followingprinciples:
(1) Vote counting at theprecinct shall occur immediately after the polls close and shall be continuousuntil completed.
(2) Vote counting at theprecinct shall be conducted with the participation of precinct officials of allpolitical parties then present. Vote counting at the county board of electionsshall be conducted in the presence or under the supervision of board members ofall political parties then present.
(3) Any member of thepublic wishing to witness the vote count at any level shall be allowed to doso. No witness shall interfere with the orderly counting of the officialballots. Witnesses shall not participate in the official counting of officialballots.
(4) Provisional officialballots shall be counted by the county board of elections before the canvass.If the county board finds that an individual voting a provisional officialballot is not eligible to vote in one or more ballot items on the officialballot, the board shall not count the official ballot in those ballot items,but shall count the official ballot in any ballot items for which theindividual is eligible to vote. Eligibility shall be determined by whether thevoter is registered in the county as provided in G.S. 163‑82.1 andwhether the voter is qualified by residency to vote in the election district asprovided in G.S. 163‑55 and G.S. 163‑57. If a voter was properlyregistered to vote in the election by the county board, no mistake of anelection official in giving the voter a ballot or in failing to comply withG.S. 163‑82.15 or G.S. 163‑166.11 shall serve to prevent thecounting of the vote on any ballot item the voter was eligible by registrationand qualified by residency to vote.
(5) Precinct officialsshall provide a preliminary report of the vote counting to the county board ofelections as quickly as possible. The preliminary report shall be unofficialand has no binding effect upon the official county canvass to follow.
(6) In counties that useany certified mechanical or electronic voting system, subject to the samplecounts under G.S. 163‑182.1 and subdivision (1a) of subsection (b) ofthis section, and of a hand‑to‑eye recount under G.S. 163‑182.7and G.S. 163‑182.7A, a board of elections shall rely in its canvass onthe mechanical or electronic count of the vote rather than the full hand‑to‑eyecount of the paper ballots or records. In the event of a material discrepancybetween the electronic or mechanical count and a hand‑to‑eye countor recount, the hand‑to‑eye count or recount shall control, exceptwhere paper ballots or records have been lost or destroyed or where there isanother reasonable basis to conclude that the hand‑to‑eye count isnot the true count.
(b) The State Board ofElections shall promulgate rules for the initial counting of official ballots.All election officials shall be governed by those rules. In promulgating thoserules, the State Board shall adhere to the following guidelines:
(1) For each votingsystem used, the rules shall specify the role of precinct officials and of thecounty board of elections in the initial counting of official ballots.
(1a) For optical scan anddirect record electronic voting systems, and for any other voting systems inwhich ballots are counted other than on paper by hand and eye, those rulesshall provide for a sample hand‑to‑eye count of the paper ballotsor paper records of a sampling of a statewide ballot item in every county. Thepresidential ballot item shall be the subject of the sampling in a presidentialelection. If there is no statewide ballot item, the State Board shall provide aprocess for selecting district or local ballot items to adequately sample the electorate.The State Board shall approve in an open meeting the procedure for randomlyselecting the sample precincts for each election. The random selection ofprecincts for any county shall be done publicly after the initial count ofelection returns for that county is publicly released or 24 hours after thepolls close on election day, whichever is earlier. The sample chosen by theState Board shall be of one or more full precincts, full counts of mailedabsentee ballots, and full counts of one or more one‑stop early votingsites. The size of the sample of each category shall be chosen to produce astatistically significant result and shall be chosen after consultation with astatistician. The actual units shall be chosen at random. In the event of amaterial discrepancy between the electronic or mechanical count and a hand‑to‑eyecount, the hand‑to‑eye count shall control, except where paperballots or records have been lost or destroyed or where there is anotherreasonable basis to conclude that the hand‑to‑eye count is not thetrue count. If the discrepancy between the hand‑to‑eye count andthe mechanical or electronic count is significant, a complete hand‑to‑eyecount shall be conducted. The sample count need not be done on election night.
(2) The rules shallprovide for accurate unofficial reporting of the results from the precinct tothe county board of elections with reasonable speed on the night of theelection.
(3) The rules shallprovide for the prompt and secure transmission of official ballots from thevoting place to the county board of elections.
The State Board shall direct thecounty boards of elections in the application of the principles and rules inindividual circumstances. (2001‑398, s. 3; 2005‑2, s. 5; 2005‑323,s. 5(b); 2006‑192, s. 7(b); 2006‑264, s. 76(c).)
(a) The initialcounting of official ballots shall be conducted according to the followingprinciples:
(1) Vote counting at theprecinct shall occur immediately after the polls close and shall be continuousuntil completed.
(2) Vote counting at theprecinct shall be conducted with the participation of precinct officials of allpolitical parties then present. Vote counting at the county board of electionsshall be conducted in the presence or under the supervision of board members ofall political parties then present.
(3) Any member of thepublic wishing to witness the vote count at any level shall be allowed to doso. No witness shall interfere with the orderly counting of the officialballots. Witnesses shall not participate in the official counting of officialballots.
(4) Provisional officialballots shall be counted by the county board of elections before the canvass.If the county board finds that an individual voting a provisional officialballot is not eligible to vote in one or more ballot items on the officialballot, the board shall not count the official ballot in those ballot items,but shall count the official ballot in any ballot items for which theindividual is eligible to vote. Eligibility shall be determined by whether thevoter is registered in the county as provided in G.S. 163‑82.1 andwhether the voter is qualified by residency to vote in the election district asprovided in G.S. 163‑55 and G.S. 163‑57. If a voter was properlyregistered to vote in the election by the county board, no mistake of anelection official in giving the voter a ballot or in failing to comply withG.S. 163‑82.15 or G.S. 163‑166.11 shall serve to prevent thecounting of the vote on any ballot item the voter was eligible by registrationand qualified by residency to vote.
(5) Precinct officialsshall provide a preliminary report of the vote counting to the county board ofelections as quickly as possible. The preliminary report shall be unofficialand has no binding effect upon the official county canvass to follow.
(6) In counties that useany certified mechanical or electronic voting system, subject to the samplecounts under G.S. 163‑182.1 and subdivision (1a) of subsection (b) ofthis section, and of a hand‑to‑eye recount under G.S. 163‑182.7and G.S. 163‑182.7A, a board of elections shall rely in its canvass onthe mechanical or electronic count of the vote rather than the full hand‑to‑eyecount of the paper ballots or records. In the event of a material discrepancybetween the electronic or mechanical count and a hand‑to‑eye countor recount, the hand‑to‑eye count or recount shall control, exceptwhere paper ballots or records have been lost or destroyed or where there isanother reasonable basis to conclude that the hand‑to‑eye count isnot the true count.
(b) The State Board ofElections shall promulgate rules for the initial counting of official ballots.All election officials shall be governed by those rules. In promulgating thoserules, the State Board shall adhere to the following guidelines:
(1) For each votingsystem used, the rules shall specify the role of precinct officials and of thecounty board of elections in the initial counting of official ballots.
(1a) For optical scan anddirect record electronic voting systems, and for any other voting systems inwhich ballots are counted other than on paper by hand and eye, those rulesshall provide for a sample hand‑to‑eye count of the paper ballotsor paper records of a sampling of a statewide ballot item in every county. Thepresidential ballot item shall be the subject of the sampling in a presidentialelection. If there is no statewide ballot item, the State Board shall provide aprocess for selecting district or local ballot items to adequately sample the electorate.The State Board shall approve in an open meeting the procedure for randomlyselecting the sample precincts for each election. The random selection ofprecincts for any county shall be done publicly after the initial count ofelection returns for that county is publicly released or 24 hours after thepolls close on election day, whichever is earlier. The sample chosen by theState Board shall be of one or more full precincts, full counts of mailedabsentee ballots, and full counts of one or more one‑stop early votingsites. The size of the sample of each category shall be chosen to produce astatistically significant result and shall be chosen after consultation with astatistician. The actual units shall be chosen at random. In the event of amaterial discrepancy between the electronic or mechanical count and a hand‑to‑eyecount, the hand‑to‑eye count shall control, except where paperballots or records have been lost or destroyed or where there is anotherreasonable basis to conclude that the hand‑to‑eye count is not thetrue count. If the discrepancy between the hand‑to‑eye count andthe mechanical or electronic count is significant, a complete hand‑to‑eyecount shall be conducted. The sample count need not be done on election night.
(2) The rules shallprovide for accurate unofficial reporting of the results from the precinct tothe county board of elections with reasonable speed on the night of theelection.
(3) The rules shallprovide for the prompt and secure transmission of official ballots from thevoting place to the county board of elections.
The State Board shall direct thecounty boards of elections in the application of the principles and rules inindividual circumstances. (2001‑398, s. 3; 2005‑2, s. 5; 2005‑323,s. 5(b); 2006‑192, s. 7(b); 2006‑264, s. 76(c).)
